4 SHOTZ 2 KILL
by Cookiekinzyousay
Summary: During the battle for Valoran no city is safe. Demacia struggles to keep it's grip on the land, and enlists in the help of Piltovers finest in hopes to secure victory. Scarlet (OC) seems to be just a troubled girl but when the war effort is doubled she is forced into the League of Legends. Will Scarlet act out her revenge? Or serve the League as one of the greatest warriors alive?
1. Chapter 1

"Every day I wake up in the morning and I sing to her. Not because she is there but because I want her to be. She is the reason I keep going. And one day I want to make her proud of who I am." – Scarlet X'vear, Mind Weaver. Piltover.

**Chapter One:**

Woken to the sounds of a drunken slur, Scarlet raises her head from her hardened mattress. The most recent of her canvases covers the moon lit window; shining out from behind it. She makes out the faint paint lines of a human body shape before she gets off of the hard uncomfortable floor to investigate the sounds that come from the streets below. _Piltover city_ she thought; _what a terrible place to live if you're poor._ She carefully moves the canvas aside, looking down at the street below. One of many heroes of the city stumbles through the streets; drunk and hopeless. Ezreal, the Prodigal Explorer of Piltover. _Ezreal?_ She thought as he stumbles into nearby trash cans, falling over on the hard stone paved slum street. _He's making too much noise. Is he trying to get himself killed?_

A fleeting glimpse of purple in the blue toned moonlight catches Scarlet's eye. She looks to the top row of Piltovian houses to see a female shadowy figure standing on the top of the highest point looking down at the streets below. Scarlet looks in the same direction as the figure to see that she is looking directly at Ezreal. He stumbles through the streets calling out to his beloved Lux. Scarlet remembers about half a year ago when it was announced on the Piltovian news that Lux and Ezreal were finally getting married. She looks back to the top of the houses to see the double platted pigtailed figure bounding down towards him. Scarlet pushes herself away from the window, running out of her room, through the kitchen and down the flight of stairs to the door way. When she opens it Ezreal turns his head; seeing her blonde hair flow down to the ground behind her. He stumbles towards her saying:

"Lux! Please forgive me… I'm sorr-" He is cut off by Scarlets sudden grip on his shoulders, she pulls the drunk man up the steps to see the shadowed figure standing across the water fissure, looking directly at her with reddish purple eyes. Jinx. Scarlet and Jinx lock eye contact before Jinx breaks into a cattish grin. Scarlet slams the door behind her pushing Ezreal up the stairs roughly and forcefully.

"Lux, listen to me babe… Whatever I did I'm sorry!" Says Ezreal, making an unruly amount of noise.

"Shhhh!" Scarlet pushes him into the kitchen then bounds past the small table, looking out the window. Jinx is running off towards the outskirts of the city, quickly being tailed by Vi. Scarlet closes the curtains looking back at Ezreal who is about to sit down on the chair nearest the kitchen door.

"NO!" she rushes over pushing him back, standing in front of the chair with a very protective look.

"Woah, calm down… Baby I know I'm not the best fiancé… But please!"

"I'm not Lux…" Scarlet says turning back to the chair, carefully dusting off the carved in markings of the chair leg that reads; 'Alsia'.

"What? Baby don't play games." Scarlet turns around lashing out with a butter knife, pulled from the table.

"I SAID… I'm not… Lux." She throws the knife back onto the table, grabbing Ezreal once again. She sits him down in her chair, moving over to the stove and putting her kettle on the boil. She turns back to see Ezreal silently sobbing with his head in his hands. She starts going to each of the windows, closing the curtains and the shutter doors. She stops at her studio door leaving it open, turning back to Ezreal who is now quietly mumbling to himself.

"Oh, I love you Lux! Why are you mad at me..?" He sulks. After a short moment of silence, the kettle begins to squeal. She walks over, taking it off the boil and pouring the hot water into a readily prepared tea cup. She takes it over to Ezreal, kneeling in front of him. She grabs his hand placing the warm cup in it. He looks her in the eye.

"Who are you..?" He stutters, taking Scarlets other hand. She pulls away, standing him up carefully.

"Just drink." She says quietly. The smell of high grade Piltovian ale reeks from his coat, overshadowing the smell of the strong herbal tea. Scarlet gags at the scent as she walks him towards her studio and bedroom. She turns on the light, revealing the rooms interior.

The room is filled with largely red and brutally painted canvases and pallets of paints. On the wall where the entrance door is, a large couch that fills most of the back wall rests. It's covered in boxes and storage containers. Opposite this is the mattress that she sleeps on, old and stiff from lack of use. It smells of oil paints, causing Ezreal to cough and in turn throw up all over one of the smaller paintings.

"Ugh… I'm sorry." He wipes his mouth

"Don't worry about it… Just watch where you're going!" Just as she says this he trips, falling onto the mattress. Scarlet manages to grab the tea from his hands as he falls. He lands on the mattress face first, laying still in total shock. Scarlet lets out a loud sigh as she walks over to the window, closing the blinds. She yawns, placing the tea cup on the windowsill. Her breath fogs up the window through the blinds, she sees a reflection on the bronze metal. A red haired girl with a bright smile.

"Alsia?" Scarlet says as she swings around to see nothing. She sighs, leaving the now snoring Ezreal on her mattress. She enters her kitchen, sitting at the end of the table, looking at the empty seat across from her. She begins to sing quietly and sweetly the words:

'Do not fear, danger near. League of heroes… The League of Legends. They don't falter… Nor shall thee… Piltovians'… Are we.'

She immediately stops singing as soon as she hears the sound of shoes hitting the floorboards behind her. All of a sudden Ezreal lifts his hand up to cover her mouth. She screams, thrashing from side to side, trying to escape his tightening grip.

"Shh… Shhhhh! Want to see something cool?" He slurs the words as he speaks, his voice smelling of rose ale and spirits. Scarlet stops struggling, staring into the darkness before her. Ezreal uncovers her mouth reaching into his pocket. He pulls out a tiny strip of what looks like cardboard.

"What is that thing?" She says with fear.

"It's a special devise called a Hextech, uh, thing… Now, hold still…" He takes it and brushes it on Scarlet's neck. She screams in panic causing him to become startled, he falls backwards hitting his head on the hard wood floor, knocking him out. Scarlet's screaming abruptly cuts off as she falls to the floor next to him, passed out with the brownish strip burrowing into her neck.


	2. Chapter 2

"I've always come across so confidently, but for her? I would do anything to make her happy. I love her." – Ezreal, the Prodigal Explorer. Piltover.

**Chapter Two:**

Ezreal lets out a sigh of relief, dropping Scarlet onto one of the curved, cushioned club seats. The eerie silence comes between them, causing the tension to be thick enough to cut with a knife. He sits down on another club seat across from her, placing his head in his arms which now rest on the small table with a low groan. Scarlet lays in silence, looking at him through the dark. The faint light comes from the lights beneath the seating. It spreads out onto the open club floor leaving a faint glow on the polished wooden surface. Ezreal looks up at Scarlet. Her eyes seem so helpless and upset, but she's slumped up on the seat with her short shorts riding up just enough to see the bottom of her ass. An almost flirty position in his eyes. He looks away, getting up abruptly; he walks over to the small bar, jumping over the back and going into the mini fridge under the counter. Scarlet walks up to the counter, adjusting her singlet and pulling her long sleeves down from her elbows.

"How are you feeling?" He says, standing up at the bar. He mixes some sort of drink together, but it's too hard for Scarlet to see in the dark. She sits down on one of the stools, watching Ezreal down the large alcohol filled glass. He looks back at her as he pours another drink. He offers it to her.

"That's right. You can't talk." He says with a smirk, he begins to frustratedly walk around the counter and onto the dance floor, his arms outstretched.

"Lux is going to MURDER me! All because I got carried away last night." He turns to Scarlet, looking her up and down. She has a similar figure to Lux.

"Oh god, we didn't do anything did we?" He says, dropping his arms to his sides.

"Oh what does it matter? We're over now. She can't stand me!" He stumbles towards Scarlet. She takes a step back from him, leaning back on the bar stool as he comes closer.

She lifts her left leg, placing her foot on his chest, keeping him at arm's length. He takes off his glove with his mouth, placing his warm hand on her cool leg. As he runs his fingertips up her leg towards her ass, looking her directly in the eye, Scarlet fills with panic. _What the hell is he doing?!_She thinks, kicking him away with full force. He stumbles back, landing on the ground. He lays in shock for a few seconds. Scarlet turns to the drink, grabbing it.

"Scarlet I'm so sorry… I didn't mean to-" Ezreal had approached her one too many times, and ended up with a face full of liquor. His arms drop back to his sides. They both stand there in the same eerie silence as it began. Ezreal doesn't bother to wipe it off. He looks down at the floor.

"Let's just get you fixed up." He says in an emotionless tone. Scarlet holds onto the glass, following Ezreal as he leads her up the steps towards the large extravagant door set up.

He pushes the door open, letting in a bright blinding white light that completely engulfs them. Scarlet squints looking towards Ezreal. She notices he doesn't even flinch. Almost like he enjoys the light covering him. _He really does love her, doesn't he._

**_(The end of the official opening to Summoners Fest.)_**

Piltovian champions are seen more as celebrities rather than heroes. Figures controlled by summoners and citizens themselves. The fans believe what they see on the screens every year as the tributes are summoned by the best of the cities summoners for battle. Most of the champions are nothing like their characters are made out to be. Mostly cowards and actors who were once heroes with a cause now stand as the public's 'inspiration'.

Each champion stands separate from the rest, signing pieces of paper for children and adults alike. This is now the League of Legends. Lux stands by Jarvan's side, staring out into the crowd of dirty and broken city folk. A once bubbly and loving girl turned towards hatred and fear stands by a broken and tired king. The city center is kept relatively clean but the grime comes through every crack. She hands the clip board to Jayce, letting him read off the names and checking off a similar list.

Since Jayce gave up his love for the science and study of Hextec equipment, he was put in charge of organizing the armory and any upkeep that came with it. Including installments of new Hextec equipment created by the now head of Piltovian Sciences; Heimerdinger. He makes his rounds, checking each champion's armor. Very few of them have any damage. The only champion to have damage as far as Jayce can see is Garen, whose armor is shattered entirely on the right side.

Garen had recently been in a skirmish on the outer ring of Demacia when his king, Jarvan IV, was attacked by a band of Noxus assassins on his way to Piltover earlier this week. The report was filed with few errors. But over two hours in the report are missing, and as of recent events, nobody knows what those two hours really were used for. Jayce signals Heimerdinger, who closes up the festivities with dates and times for the up and coming ranked match. He signals the summoners names and the champions chosen. The crowd cheers at every word as the champions head back inside one by one.

Lux, Jarvan IV, Jayce and Heimerdinger stand at the entrance to the champion hall, answering the questions and sorting out enquiries into becoming a summoner for the Piltovian Summoning Schools of the next year. Galio closes the large champion hall doors before he swoops up to his resting place at the top of the highest hall tower.

* * *

**_(Bottom floor of the Piltovian Champion hall. Reception.)_**

"Who left the fridge in the guys dorm open again?"

"Does it matter, Vi? You don't sleep in there." Poppy steps past the reception desk with the rest of the girls, pausing to watch Vi push her way through to the guys dorm.

"Well every time they leave the fridge door open they come into MY stash and take MY milk. Close the damn door!" she punches Garen right between the shoulder blades. A loud clunk splinters through the vastly open reception area, followed by a loud crash.

Garens armor had split from his right side right up his body, causing the entire torso and shoulder part to break and fall to the ground. He stands motionless as each of the champions turn their attention towards him and away from each other. Vi stands with an embarrassed look on her face as Garen kneels down, picking up the pieces of his armor carefully. His shirt beneath the armor was ripped and tattered across the shoulder from over use.

"Shit, I didn't mean to hit it that hard." Vi chuckles, looking around the room of silent champions who seem to stare directly at her. She suddenly turns, walking as fast as she can and pushing past all of her friends, heading straight into the girls dorm and towards the gym.

Garen stands, carrying half of his armor into the male dorm, past the fridge and towards his bed at the back. He closes the fridge door as he passes. Poppy grabs some of the broken armor, helping him carry it into the empty male dorm as the rest of the crowd disperses.

Sona stands in the door way, holding Etwahl to her side. She enters the dorm, floating down the isle of beds. She sits next to Garen, beginning to play gentle harmonies as he lays on his bed motionlessly. His hands behind his head calmly he begins humming along to the tune.

"She didn't want to break your armor. You're aware of that right?" Poppy says, breaking the calmness of the atmosphere with her rigged, harsh voice. Garen just nods slowly, keeping his eyes closed as the melody plays on.

Poppy hops off the side of the bed, leaving the armor in pieces all around Garen and Sona. She starts leaving through the gym door, reaching up to open the fridge door as she leaves.

"Get up you lazy fool and talk to her." Poppy leaves, and the gym door clicks shut, locking in Sona's music.

Poppy walks through the male gym and through to the bar. She notices Taric sitting on his own at the bar writing something on what looks to be blue print paper.

"Hey Taric, stayin' out of everyone's hair again I see?" She walks over, climbing up on a nearby stool and onto the table top. She jumps down the back of the bar, opening the mini fridge. She throws her hammer up onto the counter as she rummages through the surprisingly empty liquor stock.

"Ah, Poppy. Yes. In a way." Taric seems fairly preoccupied with something troubling him deeply. Poppy closes the fridge door, pushing a stool over so that she can see what Taric is planning.

"Is that the new power core thing for the front lines?" She sits on the counter, pointing to her hammer on the other side of Taric. Without breaking his concentration with the paper, he reaches over grabbing the hammer and passing it back to Poppy with ease.

"Yes. But the Gems are refusing the original power core designs. I can not seem to find a way to fi-"

"Why don't you just directly plug it in?" She hops down from the counter, heading towards the girls gym.

"Wha? To the main appliance.. Of course!" Taric begins writing again.

"Oh, have you seen Ezreal? Lux has me looking for him. Again."

"Ah, yes. He passed through here a while ago." Taric puts down the pencil, turning to Poppy.

"Lux seemed to be with him at the time, but I hadn't payed much attention. He did however go through the female gym." Taric grabs the blueprint, rolling it up with care before heading to the double doors and up the flight of stairs to the right.

"Thanks." Poppy wanders into the empty female gym and into the women's dorm. There's a crowd of girls surrounding one of the beds, with the smell of strong liquor in the air. Caitlyn is sitting on her top bunk. She seems to be cleaning gun parts.

"Hey, Snipey. Whats with the smell?" Poppy taps the bed side with her hammer. Caitlyn looks up and over to the group almost completely uninterested.

"We have a guest, of sorts."

"Can she talk?"

"I don't understand how you managed to drop her." Fiora presses Ezreal for answers.

"I didn't drop her. She tripped up." Poppy pushes past Fiora to see Ezreal shakily trying to apply a bandage, with the strange girl petrified and unable to move.

"Back off. Give the girl some air, will ya?" Poppy inches Fiora back, walking up to Ezreal. She leans over his shoulder.

"Lux is looking for you. Again." She takes the bandage from his hand as he stands up.

"Where is she?!" Ezreal looks at Poppy desperately. She continues to dress the wound, not looking up.

"Top left tower, opposite the Tail-Wind docking tower, in Jarvans Quarters." She looks up after finishing the bandaging.

"You may want to shower first. Or she'll never take you back." Ezreal nods hazily, heading out the front entrance of the girls dorm. He walks past the reception desk, where a small robot construct sits, awaiting guests.

"Hello Sir. Who do you wish to speak to?"

"Ah shut up." He walks into the guys dorm, seeing Garen laying on his bed with Sona at his side playing a beautiful melody. The armor lays shattered across the ground. Ezreal walks closer towards the shower room.

"Shit dude, what happened to your armor? Meet Katarina on the way here?" Ezreal bleats in a drunk slur. He laughs as he walks into the shower rooms. Garen doesn't even open his eyes. He readjusts his body, stretching his arms out then back behind his head.

"Thanks Sona. I'll be alright now." He says quietly as the sounds of the showers fill the dorm. Sona smiles, leaving the room and heading out the front of reception towards the girls dorm.

"Hello Ma'am. Is there anybody you wish to speak to today?" Sona shakes her head lightly towards the robot as to tell him no. Then waves, floating into the girls dorm.

**_(Near the checkpoint entrance between Zawn and Piltovian territory.)_**

"Need eyes on her!"

Boots hit the hard dirt, flinging sand and dust into the air behind her as she sprints towards the front lines of Piltover. The last of the Demacian carriages is heading through the checkpoint now, with Zawn guards carefully inspecting the under side of the carriage for unclaimed weapons. She throws her chakram onto the side of the ticketing station, causing it to bounce off multiple targets and shred the top half of the carriage right off it's stands leaving a calm man sitting in the center of carriage with a woman glaring over his shoulder. Vayne watches as Sivir sprints directly towards her. She stands up grabbing the chakram from mid air, throwing right back at her as she steps down from the carriage, grabbing her cross bow and bolts from the side of the ticketing station and throwing Xin Zhao his spear.

Sivir reaches up to catch her weapon, but Valor swoops down, snatching it with ease. Sivir comes to an abrupt halt at around fifty metres from the checkpoint. Quinn comes bounding off the side of the cliff, firing a single bolt at Sivir.

"Got you!" Sivir leans back causing the bolt to miss. She turns to meet Quinns gaze as she flies towards her. Sivir bounds back, grabbing the bolts from Quinn's quivver as she lands. She starts darting towards the checkpoint, dropping the bolts on the ground as Quinn chases her down. Vayne is leaning against the wall, watching Xin as he readies himself at the entrance. And with a small smile and a wave of the hand, a sudden roar can be heard in the distance.

The ground rumbles feircly as Sivir tries to keep her balance. A huge red dragon rips its way down the steep cliff side, letting go and flying over her head as Sivir trips, hitting the ground. The dragon lands and quickly turns around, ripping towards her. Sivir looks up to see the dragon within the dust. It roars again coming to a halt right above her. With a flash of flame that blinds Sivir, the dragon transforms back into it's human form. Shyvana stands over Sivir, with her foot directly on her chest to pin her down.

"Got you." She hisses.

* * *

**_(Back at the Piltovian Champion hall.)_**

Ezreal adjusts his jacket as he exits the lift and enters the roof top walk way towards Jarvan's Piltovian office. His breath still reeks of ale, and his hair is still wet from his shower. He see's Galio resting in the center of the walk way; watching both entrances and exits like a hawk.

"Ah. Ezreal. I see you're here to talk with Lux and Jarvan?" Ezreal looks up at Galio with a weak and slightly terrified smile. Galio smiles, moving his body from it's frozen position.

"You have no need to fear. She has been very worried about you since you left the halls drunk two days ago." Galio puts his stone hand on Ezreal's shoulder lightly.

"Yea well... It happens when the woman you love breaks your heart." Ezreal pushes Galio's hand away as he heads towards the closed door. It opens slowly, revealing Heimerdinger and Taric who excitedly walk past Ezreal. Taric and Ezreal bump fists, as Heimerdinger rambles on about the defenses of the front lines of Demacia and Piltover.

"Ezreal! Where the HELL have you been." Lux grabs him by the collar, pulling him into the dark dusty room. A slight hint of light beams through the closed curtains.

"Put the poor man down, Lux." Jarvan leans back in his chair, closing the blind with his spear. He looks at Ezreal and Lux with a very uncaring glare.

"Ezreal we needed you today! The crowed halved as soon as people realised you weren't there! Idiot!" She slaps Ezreal across the face. He stands still, unmoving, staring at her feet.

"Now now." Jarvan stands walking over to Lux. He places his hand on her shoulder and Ezreal's.

"You two are to be married in a few weeks. Why fight over something so silly?"

"How do you know that? And I would never marry someone so selfish!" She snaps towards Ezreal who looks up at her with cold eyes. She backs off, knowing she took a step to far. Jarvan laughs, pushing them both towards the door.

"I don't want you two fighting at a time like this! Just sleep on it." He opens the door, letting them walk out into the now cold and empty twilight. The silence envelops them for a few seconds before Ezreal begins walking away from Lux towards the elevator entrance. The door slams behind her.

"Ezreal!" She calls out. He keeps walking, past Galio. She starts walking towards him, speeding up with every following cry. Galio comes loose from his position as Ezreal passes.

"Ezreal I didn't mean it!" He stands in front of Lux to stop her from getting to him. He keeps walking.

"Ezreal.. Ezreal LOOK AT ME!" she screams past Galio.

"Get out of my WAY!" Ezreal turns to her. Standing in the entrance way to the lift. He stares at her with tears in his eyes.

"If you were sorry you wouldn't have said it." She stops struggling, looking at Ezreal over Galio's arms. He turns away, getting into the lift and pressing the button. Galio moves back to his position as the doors close, leaving Lux alone.

In the dark.


	3. Chapter 3

"Me? You're asking me to tell you what I think of the war? I think it's a waste of good people and resources." Poppy, the Iron Ambassador. Demacia.

**Chapter Three:**

Lux enters the female dorm empty and drained. She looks torn at the seams. Vi opens one eye looking at her. She chuckles.

"The hell happened to you?" Caitlyn looks down from her book. Lux looks up at her with a broken and regretful stare. Caitlyn slowly comes off her bed, taking Lux to the other side of the room to sit down.

"Wow, OK then. Can't hear bout the general's problems. Fine by me." Vi calls, going back to relaxing. Lux sits down on the bottom bunk and almost instantly begins to sob. Caitlyn sits next to her, wrapping her arm around her.

"What happened?" She says calmly. Lux leans her head on Caitlyn's shoulder as she cries. The words force themselves through her lips like sandpaper.

"I... I went too far." She struggles to regain her composure. Caitlyn pulls her to her chest, gently whispering to her.

"You'll work it out. You always do. You're a smart girl, and I'm sure he still loves you very much." Lux steadies her breathing over time. Caitlyn's sudden care for the situation catches her off guard.

"So you really can't talk can you?" Poppies voice rings through to Lux at last. She lifts her head, wiping her face with a tissue she takes from her pocket.

"What is she trying to say? I can't understand her." Fiora seems quite annoyed at this point.

"Ah. Right. We have a guest." Caitlyn stands up after Lux. Lux looks over at Scarlet, making her way towards her. Sona is sitting with Scarlet in her lap, carefully brushing back her hair.

"Who are you and how did you get in the champion hall?" Lux, much unlike her character, bluntly gets to the point. Looking down at Scarlet with an angry expression to rival even Garens. Scarlet looks up at her, opening her mouth. Lux notices no sound coming out as the new girl becomes frustrated. All of a sudden Lux turns around towards Fiora, who resides on the other side of the room.

"Fiora. Where did you put the blackboard?" Fiora opens the draw next to her bed, taking a small blackboard and a piece of white chalk from the very back of the compartment. She tosses them to Lux who catches the blackboard. Caitlyn catches the chalk just before it hits the ground. She passes it to Scarlet.

"Use this to communicate." Lux stands over Scarlet, waiting. Scarlet writes on the blackboard shakily.

_Scarlet._Is all that she can fit on the board.

"Who bought you here?" Lux repeats.

"Ezreal bought her in about two hours ago. She had a cut up leg and a couple of bruises. I patched her up and sent him on his way. By the way, how did it go?" Poppy jumps down from her top bunk onto the floor, looking through the bunk at Lux. She climbs onto the bed, nudging Scarlet to move over slightly as she sits down, curiously looking towards her general. Lux lets out a light sigh before grabbing Scarlet by the arm. She hauls her up, sniffing her lightly.

"You need a shower. Come with me." She takes Scarlet towards the showers. Poppy looks up at Caitlyn.

"What the hell happened?" Poppy says roughly as the shower doors close with a thud.

"I have no idea. But I suspect the outcome won't be so easily fixed." Caitlyn walks back towards her bunk.

* * *

_**(At the checkpoint entrance between Zawn and Piltovian territory.)**_

"Dad..."

"No. We are not turning the underside of the Demacian war carriage into a full scale moving battle scene of the Noxian war."

"But Dad.."

"No."

"Why can't you accept that I'm an ARTIST!" Lucian steps over sets of broken bolts and feathers completely ignoring the arguing father and son. He turns towards the cliff face, analyzing the gashes in the stone.

"Shyvanna." He mutters.

"We are Zawn guards son. Our job is to stop anybody who looks suspicious! Not make... Art." The teenager looks over his fathers shoulder in awe at the pristine champion in his stride. The guard turns to see Lucian walking over the broken carriage parts and past the checkpoint.

"Hey! Stop!" He cries out as Lucian keeps walking.

"You wanna die bud?" The father grabs his spear as Lucian turns around, holding up his guns.

"Everybody dies-" He's cut off by the now overly excited teenager that dashes towards him with ease.

"Some just need a little help! It is you!" He comes sliding to a halt in front of Lucian, kicking up dust which flows back into his fathers face. Lucian swiftly turns and starts walking again.

"Hey! Wait!" He cries out.

"I wasn't there for the war. But trust me: you wouldn't want to see one." He turns back firing his gun into the dry dirt which sends a giant cloud of dust into the air.

* * *

_**(Back at the Piltovian Champion hall, basement floor, jail cells.)**_

"She was found just outside of Noxus. We tracked her half way through Zawn using the Demacian carriage as bait and eventually caught her at the Piltovian checkpoint. That's why we're a day late." Quinn plucks one of Valors feathers from his left wing, dropping it to the ground as she turns to Vayne who continues to write the details down in her report. Xin Zhao has caged Sivir and is now documenting her weapon along with the Piltovian guard.

"So you're saying that instead of following orders you managed to catch a criminal we weren't even looking for." Lux crosses her arms over her chest. Her hair, which by this early hour of the morning would be perfect, is completely in shambles. She looks a mess.

"You may have been looking for other people. But Demacia hasn't." Vayne stands, passing the report to Lux before walking towards the stone steps.

"And one more thing, general. You look like you got hit by a train." Vayne walks up the steps shortly followed by Quinn and Valor. As the rest of the staff disperse, Sivir leans against the bars. She looks directly at Lux with a slight smile.

"Having boyfriend issues?" She smirks. Lux turns and walks away, turning off the only light as she goes. Sivir lets out a huff of disappointment.

"I thought you would at least be happy to see me."

Scarlet sits on the bed, looking up at Sona who stares down at her aimlessly. Vayne walks into the dorm followed by Quinn who carries Valor off into the bar without a word. Vayne looks at Scarlet for a second before placing her crossbow at her bed just across from where Sona sits.

"Who the hell is that?" She starts taking off her suit. Scarlet grabs the chalk board, writing her name on it as neatly as she can. She shows it to Vayne.

"Scarlet. And why are you here?" Lux walks in making a direct bee line towards Scarlet. She grabs her by the shoulder roughly.

"She's here to get one of the new Hextech Silencers removed." Lux leads her back out into the reception area.

"Oh god what the fuck happened this time." Vayne follows her out, only to be shut out by Heimerdingers lab trap door slamming before she can climb down with them.

"Nosey cow." Lux mutters under her breath before descending the now self lit steps.

They reach the bottom of the steps to see a large metal door. It remains completely sealed off with some sort of bolting that pulses with a crystal like light. A panel flashes with a bright red colour before belting out into the open:

"Access denied. Voice identification required."

"I didn't even speak... Stupid thing. HEIMERDINGER LET ME IN!" Lux shouts at the seemingly sound proof door and within a few seconds the locks become loose. A loud steam burst comes from each of the bolts as they slide back into their casings. The door to Heimerdinger's lab has opened.

* * *

_**(Heimerdingers Lab. Floor one.)**_

"A little here, a little there. Oh curses! Why won't it work!"

"Frustraited?" Lux cries from the front of the lab towards the very distracted Heimerdinger.

"The math is perfect. The crystals are prime! Why does it not work?" He comes crashing down suddenly from his stool, bringing half of the papers and tools with him. For the next few seconds all Lux and Scarlet hear is bubbling and the grinding of gears before he comes walking out from his desk.

"What do you want?" He looks up at Lux angrily then to Scarlet. His expression almost instantly changes as he finds himself delighted with the seemingly unexpected visit.

"Ah. You must be-"

"Scarlet, yes. Now let's get this problem sorted out. I have a lot to do today-" Heimerdinger snatches Scarlet from Lux's grip.

"My dear, I think you will find Ezreal doesn't count." Heimerdinger takes Scarlet to a dark corner of the room. He claps twice, causing spotlights to burst into an explosion which rains down sparks.

"Agh.."

"Just like your latest invention, this one doesn't work either. My dear." Lux snarls at him as he climbs a extremely tall ladder. Scarlet, in all her confusion, grabs the ladder in order to keep Heimerdinger from falling. She looks between the two as they continue to argue.

"Thank you, Scarlet. At least someone in this hall appreciates my genius!" Heimerdinger ties a rope around his waist as he adjusts his magnifying glass to examine the blown lights.

"Well if your genius could at least finish the bloody defenses on time then maybe we won't get invaded and DIE!" She screams up at him causing him to slip and fall from the ladder. The rope catches his fall, and he begins swinging from side to side in complete disarray. In the panic Scarlet climbs the ladder with ease; grabbing Heimerdinger as he swings towards her. She places him back on the ladder before undoing the blots on the lights carefully. She carries the lights down, placing them firmly on the ground before looking towards Lux. In surprise and shock Lux passes Scarlet her blackboard. She writes the following:

"_I just want to go home."_

She turns the blackboard towards both of them as Heimerdinger settles himself to the lab floor. They look at each other then back at Scarlet.

"I can take that silencer out right away. However, my lights are broken. You will need to wait until I replace them."

"And when will that be?!"

"Once I finish the math on the defenses." He walks back towards his desk calling out behind him.

"Could one of you bring those lights?"

Scarlet picks up the lights carefully, carrying them past Lux and towards the desk. As she gets closer she see's a robot girl lent up against another strange invention. Scarlet places the lights on the desk pointing to the robot intently. Heimerdinger looks up from his paper again as Lux walks over to the robot.

"Why haven't you fixed her yet? She was supposed to be ready to fight two days ago." Lux looks at Heimerdinger who stares at the robot for a few seconds.

"Well?!" Lux snaps.

"You insisted on these plans being done yesterday, general." He looks towards Lux blankly before turning his attention to Scarlet. He assesses her face before getting back to work on his defense plans. Scarlet begins to write on the blackboard.

"_Have you slept?"_She puts it over his plans. He looks up at her with a questioning expression.

"Sleep? I have no time for sleep." Scarlet erases the blackboard, writing again.

"Could you just leave me to my work?" He says angrily.

"_The answer is 42."_Scarlet leaves the blackboard on the desk next to him before turning towards the robot. She reaches behind her, picking her up gently as if she was human. She places the robot face down on the floor, carefully spreading out the separate parts. She looks around for anything to fix the robot.

"What are you doing?!" Lux watches her.

"Stop it! You'll break her even more." Scarlet ignores her.

"Eureka! You were right, Scarlet!" Heimerdinger scribbles away at the paper before looking over the desk at the sprawled out robot.

"Orianna hasn't worked for a while. I can't figure out why." Heimerdinger jumps down from his desk once more, watching Scarlet reach up on top of a metal locker. She pulls down a oil covered manual cog winder.

"I have never seen that before." Heimerdinger looks very confused as Scarlet places the cog winder into a slot in the back of the robot. She begins winding.

"How do you even know that it's going to work?!" Scarlet continues winding. Soon enough the dusty and rusting parts of the robot girl begin to clink together in formation. Scarlet turns the robot over, sitting her up. She holds her in her arms and waits for the energy to take effect.

"Malfunction. Ball misplaced. Malfunction. Ball misplaced." She repeats over and over.

"Ball. Ah, yes. Her companion." Heimerdinger turns to Lux.

"It's in the Piltovian office. I'll go get it." Scarlet stands up, leaving the robot sitting and repeating. She shakes her head as Heimerdinger passes her the blackboard.

"_I'll go."_ She writes.

"OK. Just remember to remind Jarvan of who you are. He's been a bit... Weird lately." Lux frowns, grabbing the cloth out of Heimerdingers pocket. She kneels down, starting to clean the dirt off of Orianna's exterior. Scarlet starts walking out of the lab.

"Remember, her name is Orianna!" Lux cries out as the doors close behind Scarlet.

* * *

_**(Male dorm, Piltovian Champion hall.)**_

"Green. Pick up four." A wide grin spreads across Garen's face. Fiora glares at him for a brief second before letting out a exasperated sigh. Scarlet walks into the male dorm, carrying her blackboard at her side.

"It's the new girl everyone has been talking about." Garen stands up as if to greet Scarlet but is quickly pulled down by Fiora. She hisses between her teeth at him:

"You are not leaving until I win this stupid game! Now play your turn." Garen sits back down.

"I'm hungry, Fiora. Just give up." Scarlet walks over to the table behind Fiora. She looks at her cards with a faint smile. Fiora draws a card revealing a wild card. Scarlet points to it over her shoulder, then to the mass amounts of blue cards she holds in her hand. Fiora looks confused for a second, but follows the instructions. Scarlet writes on her board, showing to Garen over Fiora's shoulders.

"_How do I get to the office?"_Garen points out the door.

"Past the Gym and the Bar, turn left at the entrance to the long corridor. There's an elevator." Scarlet nods.

"Blue. Pick up four?" Scarlet walks out of the room and into the Gym. She continues past the gym equipment and into the bar area. Following Garen's instructions she soon finds herself at the foot of a very decorated elevator door. The door opens without cause, revealing an empty elevator. Scarlet steps inside to see no buttons on the wall. _What..?_she thinks as the doors close and the machine propels her upward.

"Welcome to the second floor." A female voice protrudes.

"On this floor we have the following facilities. Starting from the back of the building we have the window balcony. Connected from this we have the plant and research area for champion use." Scarlet listens intently, drawing out the floor plan on her small board as if creating a map.

"Down the hall to the left we have Weapon storage. Authorized personnel only. To the right across the hall is the Weapons Facilities. Toilets are connected to the hall on both sides, genders have been engraved on the doors." The voice stops for a second, seeming to glitch out before continuing.

" y.. .xit elevatorrr, across the hall is theee elevator to the top floor. If you continnnuue downward to the fro.t of the . Y.. ..l. s.." The voice breaks out before the doors open again, leading Scarlet out into the open hall.

_Bah.. Is the office here or not?_Scarlet looks down towards the front of the building to see wide open doors that lead out into a kitchen like area. Most if not all of the champions are gathered around laughing, talking and eating their breakfasts.

_This is just a giant dorm for child like adults.._Scarlet walks in, instantly greeted by Caitlyn who encourages her to come over. As she enters the kitchen Vayne passes her, carrying two bowels of cereal. She looks at Scarlet before entering the elevator. Scarlet stands at the edge of the table, looking for a seat. She sits down at the end of the table next to Caitlyn, across from Jayce, with Ezreal at the end across from Caitlyn.

"You must be starving." Caitlyn places her book on the table grabbing her crumpet from her plate. Ezreal silently eats his cereal, looking over at Scarlet. Scarlet just sit's still looking at her board on her lap. She then places it on the table, pointing at the empty part of the map she had drawn; the front part of the building.

"Ah, a map of the hall. Very nice." Jayce turns the board around forcefully grabbing the chalk from her hand. He proceeds to complete the map. When he turns it back around Scarlet looks very discouraged. She erases the map and starts writing.

"Hey, she's in my seat! Get out of the way shorty!" Vi bumps her over causing Caitlyn to drop her crumpet jam side onto her open book. Scarlet looks at Vi as if to say sorry, but when she tries to get up she finds herself trapped between the two officers. Vi begins scoffing down both her bowl of cereal and seven pieces of toast.

"That's not very nice, Vi." Jayce glares at her over the table before laughing at her lack of interest. He hands Scarlet the blackboard as he stands up.

"I'm done anyway." He grabs his bowl and starts walking past Vi.

"Where you goin'? I just got here!" Vi turns around, mouth full of food. As she does so she begins to choke. Caitlyn continues to carefully wipe the jam, and Ezreal rolls his eyes, picking up his bowl to follow Jayce. Scarlet panics, and with a swift motion she slams her hand into Vi's back, causing a large peice of toast to fly from her mouth right into the back of Xin Zhao's head. He slowly turns around, looking at Vi with a blank stare. Scarlet quickly stands up, following Ezreal and Jayce with her blackboard. She writes frantically.

"I don't know what you see in her." Ezreal places his bowl next to Jayce who is filling the sink with warm soapy water.

"I don't know what you don't see in her." He smirks as he starts washing dishes. Ezreal turns to Scarlet.

"Can you pass me that?" He points to a towel on the rack next to her. She looks up, grabbing it quickly. She passes it to him, trying to show him her blackboard. He reads it as he dries a plate.

"_Where is the office?"_Her stomach growls loud enough for Ezreal and Jayce to hear. They stop washing dishes almost immediately. Jayce takes one of the packs of cereal from the cupboard above his head.

"The office is on the next floor, down the walkway from the elevator. Galio will help you if you get lost." Ezreal smiles weakly, placing the dish on the bench behind him. Jayce fills it with cereal, then pours milk into it, passing it to Scarlet.

"You're going nowhere without food in you." Jayce leads her to a table.


	4. Chapter 4

"To protect and serve has always been my purpose. I believe that there is no such thing as redemption. Only penance." Galio, the Sentinel's Sorrow. Demacia.

**Chapter Four:**

Lucian walks over a tall hill that overlooks his route past the third Piltovian checkpoint. _Last time I was here I left on a bad note_ he thinks. He analyses the large opening in the wall, about a kilometer to the checkpoints' left. It's mostly under reconstruction from what seems like an explosion. _Looks like she still hasn't managed to clean up the mess._

He starts making his way towards the hole in the wall; surveying the amount of guards on post. No more than four are stationed and two of them seem to be asleep. Lucian picks up speed as he makes his way towards the opening. The two guards that are awake only notice him as he reaches around fifty meters away and quickly rush to wake the sleeping guards. By the time they get up it's too late. Lucian dashes between them and through the wall, shooting at two of the maintenance repair bots which explode in their faces, causing them all to fly backwards into removed rubble.

"He got through! Sound the alarm!" One of the guards cries shortly after regaining composure. A loud siren begins bleating out around each of the guard posts as Lucian makes his way through the mostly empty Piltovian slum streets.

He turns down one of the more narrow walkways only stopping to catch his breath. He looks around as his eyes adjust to the darkness. He keeps walking down the path until he finds an open sewer entrance. Looking down briefly, he is unable to see anything. So he pushes the metal cover back over with his foot, continuing right towards the heart of the city.

He makes a few twists and turns before finding an open rubbish outlet. Normally any rubbish thrown down the chute would be incinerated right away, but a cloak seems to be jammed in one of the hinges. He rips it and throws it over his shoulders to cover his pristine suit before walking into a panicking crowd. He looks up to see Vi and Caitlyn running along rooftops chasing the infamous Jinx and with ease he manages to slip into the shadows once more, only to bump into another cloaked figure. This causes him to fall straight into a pile of rubbish bags and small robots that quickly readjust into continuing their job of throwing bags into the incinerators. Lucian grabs the figures arm, attempting to help him up.

The man rolls over pulling a yellow card from his sleeve as multiple other cards fall from every pocket visible. Lucian reacts almost instantly, pulling his gun from his side and pointing it right into the face of Twisted Fate.

"What a good catch." Lucian hisses through his teeth as he pulls him to his feet. Twisted Fate struggles to break free.

"Fancy meeting you here." Twisted Fate says desperately.

"If I recall you were the reason I almost got caught."

"Look, I just did what I had to do to get out. It's not like I sold you out."

"Oh you sold me out. Now I'm going to sell you out." Lucian raises his gun to the sky as he pushes Twisted Fate towards the incinerator opening.

"Wait! I can help you. Who are you looking for?!" He drops his card instantly, holding his hands up by his head as Lucian pushes him closer to the licking flames.

"Sivir! You're looking for Sivir, right?!" Lucian stops. Pointing the gun at his face.

"I saw her earlier this morning!"

"How can I trust you? You're a snake."

"She's here. There's no way she would have gotten her way to the Freljord pass with that goon squad on her you know that." Lucian pulls him from the incinerator opening, keeping his gun on him.

"Where?" He says determinedly.

"Why should I tell you?"

"Because if you don't I will kill you."

"Fair trade. I hate fair trades." He mumbles under his breath, leading the way down the dark alley way towards the Champion hall.

* * *

_**(After an hour of walking through Piltover's High and Low districts.)**_

"How far?"

"Not long now, partner." Twisted fate ducks into another alley way and into another street in order to avoid Vi and her search party.

"You said not long five minutes ago." Lucian follows him, slamming him into a nearby wall.

"Where is she?!" Twisted fate lifts his arm with a cattish grin, pointing off to the right across the canal. Lucian turns his gaze for a second to see the back of the Piltovian champion hall. He glares back at Twisted Fate who lets out a light chuckle.

"Shall we?"

"How the hell do you expect me to get in there?"

"What, you don't have a pass?" Twisted Fate walks close to the canal.

"Well if you're going to make it difficult then we need to go through the back entrance."

"Don't tell me she's locked in the jail in the-"

"You got it. Right down in the front of the building. That's why I was hoping you had a pass." He looks back at Lucian with a suspecting eye.

"Are they still pissed about you shooting up that-"

"Let's just get this over with." Lucian pushes him down the river line.

"If we're going the back way that means we have to go over the canal bridge. Which also means avoiding Caitlyn and the goon squad. Hey, are you listening to me?" They travel down the outer canal markets to avoid suspicion. Lucian looks across to the other side only briefly but something catches his eye. A average height cloaked female seems to be keeping pace with them, heading towards the same bridge as them. _Why stop? This might be the distraction we need._He thinks.

After about five minutes of solid walking they pass through the last of the market place and enter the rundown slums to the south of the city center. As they come closer to the bridge it becomes clear that they are in fact being followed. Lucian stops Twisted Fate just before the edge of the bridge as he walks out onto it.

"Move and i'll shoot you."

"I wasn't doubting you would. Partner." He huffs.

As he nears the center of the bridge the cloaked figure drops their hood revealing their face. Jinx stands with an innocent smile on her face, staring right into Lucians eyes as she approaches. He stops dead in his tracks immediately drawing both his guns from his sides and aiming them directly at her.

"What the fuck-"

"Calm down captain. I'm just here to enjoy the show." A cheeky grin spreads from ear to ear.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"I had no idea you would be coming back to my city. What's even better is you set off an alarm and took my best friends away from me." She pouts, pushing back the sides of her cloak to reveal her mini gun and rocket launcher.

"I saw a young girl here in the slums a few days ago. Kinda reminded me of the girl whose best friend you made me shoot up. She saved a certain drunk champion from death. A little blonde girl. Rumor has it her name is Scarlet." She walks over to the edge of the bridge, placing her boot on the edge of the concrete.

"Scarlet? You're full of shit."

"She may very well be telling the truth, friend." Twisted Fate suddenly appears on the other side of the bridge, sitting with his leg crossed over the other. He's holding a gold card in his hand. Lucian splits his guns among the two.

"Weren't you and Senna going to name your child Scarlet? Or was that another dare devil black couple wandering through Piltover looking to get married?" Lucian turns with a sudden scream of anger, blindly emptying his guns towards the cocky Jinx. She jumps off the bridge into the air with a high pitched laugh as she readies her rocket launcher in mid air.

"Don't shoot the messenger. Or they'll shoot you back!" She fires a rocket directly at the bridge and before Lucian can react, Twisted Fate disappears before his eyes.

The rocket comes in contact with the bridge, blowing it and Lucian sky high. The explosion ruptures the nearby canal walls causing water to flow through the market streets creating mass hysteria as the rubble comes crashing down into the lake below. The sound of Jinx's laughter fills the air as the dust and water settles and once again the city of Piltover comes to a screeching hault.

* * *

_**(Back at the Piltovian Champion hall, floor two, mess hall. A few hours before Lucian arrived within the walls of Piltover.)**_

"There you go. Eat up." Jayce heads back to the table they were at a few moments ago. Rubbing Vi's head lightly before getting punched. Ezreal comes over to the table, sitting across from Scarlet. He smiles at her as she eats eagerly. After a while it becomes awkward for her. She looks at him questioningly.

"Hey, don't look at me like that! I'm just glad you're eating. What I'm most concerned about is how I got into your home. That's where we were I assume." He leans in close as if not wanting to alarm anyone else in immediate ear shot. Scarlet sits up, picking up her blackboard. She begins to write but before she can show him her answer a loud bleating siren comes from all sides of the room.

"Vi and Caitlyn. You're needed immediately at the breach of the south east wall." This repeats over and over. Caitlyn and Vi stand immediately. Caitlyn calmly walks out into the hall towards the lift while Vi crashes between tables, flinging plates all over the place.

"Finally. Time for some action!" Vi cries as she pulls Caitlyn into the elevator. Scarlet looks around the mess hall. Not a single champion is panicking.

"Don't worry about it. It's been routine for about two years now." Ezreal reaches over to the blackboard, attempting to tilt it down. Scarlet sharply turns back, pulling the board to her chest abruptly. Ezreal looks into her eyes with slight desperation. She erases what she had written and writes the following:

"_We didn't have sex. I saved your life."_ Ezreal lets out a sigh of relief before leaning back. He holds onto the table.

"Thank god... Uh.. Not that you're not really pretty. In fact you're beautiful, scarily reminding me of her. I mean... It's just that I'm to be married. To the love of my life."

"_I know."_

"I suppose everyone in Piltover knows." He slumps back down on the table with his head in his arms. Scarlet taps on his shoulder.

"_Where is the office?" _Ezreal looks confused for a second before nodding. He stands carefully grabbing her plate.

"Follow me. I'll take you there. You don't need a map." He smiles cheekily at her before walking to the sink.

* * *

_**(A few hours after the destruction of the southern bridge.)**_

By the time Caitlyn had convinced Vi to follow orders and proceed with writing up a report on the outer wall incident earlier that morning, it was late afternoon. Without a break they proceeded to the southern Piltover bridge. One of the young and in training officers hands Caitlyn a brief report on what nearby residents had seen on the event. It details a young girl with blue pig tails with a rocket launcher flying from the bridge, with a bearded man holding what looked to be cards and a dark skinned man with two white guns.

"Well, it seems everybody that we have been looking for has come together. Right in our back yard." Caitlyn passes the report to Vi who immediately passes it to another trainee without reading a single word.

"Jinx." She says with a scowl quickly spreading across an already tired face.

"I wish you would read the reports. Set a good example for our team."

"Ha! You're funny." Vi looks down the river towards the sewer entrance. There's a faint trail of blood leaking into the water. Immediately she jumps down into the current, gripping onto a giant segment of rubble as she floats down stream. Caitlyn lets out a sigh turning to one of the trainee's.

"Could you go pick up a pack of doughnuts. Jam filled for me. Double glazed for Vi. I'm terribly sorry, but this may be a job for the experts."

"Yes ma'am." He turns and heads off to the markets.

"Yo, Cait!" Vi walks towards Caitlyn soaking wet. She holds out a scrap of cloth containing some sort of weapon. When Caitlyn opens it she lets out a gasp before turning towards the group of trainee's.

"Somebody get Jayce as soon as possible!"

* * *

_**(Back at the Piltovian Champion hall. Third floor.)**_

"Welcome to the third floor. On this floor we have the following facilities:" Ezreal taps his foot nervously, taking a step away from Scarlet. She rolls her eyes, drawing on her blackboard. The chalk screeches which adds to the noise.

"If you take the automatic entrance the path will lead you to the Piltovian office." Scarlet looks towards Ezreal to see him scratching the back of his neck as if in a panic. He looks at her, twitching lightly. Scarlet looks at him questioningly as the intercom continues over him.

"If you take the secondary entrance; likely at your back. It will lead you directly into the Library. The doors can be accessed on the left panel as the automatic doors open."

"What? What are you looking at me like that for?" His movements become extreme. He begins pressing the button to go up as quickly as he can. Causing a series of explanation messages to spout out of the inner intercom over top of the already loud and progressing explanation message.

"Third floor. Third floor. Third floor." Scarlet looks away from him swiftly reaching to his arm. He frantically presses the button over and over.

"Come on come on! LET ME OUT!" Scarlet grabs his arm, jerking it towards her. It causes Ezreal to spin around and fall towards her. She quickly reaches up, kissing him smack bang on the lips. He instantly stops panicking, staring at her as he feels her gently pressing her lips to his. The doors open, letting in the bright evening light and the cool summer air. He relaxes, letting the feeling rush over him before kissing back intently. As he does so Scarlet pulls away and heads down the open stone landing towards the office. Galio watches as Ezreal follows her without a word.

"You must be Scarlet." Galio launches himself in front of her so he stands in the center of the walk way. Scarlet stops, looking up at him. Ezreal stands dazed without a word coming from his lips.

"I would advise you not to kiss Ezreal. He is to be married to Lux in a matter of days." Scarlet rolls her eyes as Galio searches her for concealed weapons. He looks over Scarlet's shoulder to see Ezreal wiping his lips over and over with his hands.

"He panicked in the elevator again, didn't he?" He whispers in her ear. She nods lightly.

"Ezreal. Come here." Galio gently pushes Scarlet aside, motioning him to come over. Ezreal walks over shakily letting out shallow breaths. He looks at Scarlet and instantly calms down.

"You're so much like Lux..." He says with a shaky voice. He looks at Galio with fear filled eyes.

"I don't think I can marry her."

"She does resemble Lux in many ways. She isn't her however. Come on." He leads them both towards the office. The large looming tower towers over them, causing Scarlet to feel slightly motion sick. Galio opens the large ancient wood doors.

"Ezreal and his guest are here to see you. It concerns... Uhm." Galio looks down at Scarlet who is scanning the ever climbing book shelves for the ball. She holds up her board to Galio to reveal a crudely drawn Orianna ball.

"Orianna's ball." Jarvan doesn't respond. He remains idle in his seat, back turned from them all.

"I see it up there. Let me climb up and get it. Scarlet, could you hold the ladder?" Ezreal points to one of the higher shelves. Galio turns to leave as Scarlet follows Ezreal through the cluttered office, down the ramp and to the back where the ladder resides. She turns back to try to get Galio to come with them but no words escape her lips. She looks up at the office desk to see Jarvan staring down at her. He mouths a single word to her as she escapes his view.

_Leave._

Scarlet tugs on Ezreal's coat as he begins climbing. He looks down at her questioningly.

"W...What?" She points to where Jarvan sits. He seems to be signing documents now. Ezreal shakes his head and keeps climbing.

"Look. I'll get her ball and then we'll get you fixed up. Once you can talk again we'll do a quick interview with you about the incidents at the southern summoning school two years ago and then you can go home..." Scarlet closes her eyes tightly, placing her head on one of the runs of the ladder as her teeth grind together. She manages to hold the tears in until a hand touches her shoulder. She spins around attempting to backhand the culprit to find her wrist gripped tightly by a very angry king. Jarvan glares down at her, letting go of her wrist.

"Why are you here?" He looks down at the blackboard and almost immediately his eyes widen. He takes a step back from her, looking up at Ezreal as he grabs the ball.

"Don't touch that!" He yells upward.

"I was just getting this for Scarlet. She must have been helping Heimerdinger with fixing Orianna. I'm guessing that's why she needs the ball." Jarvan scowls at Scarlet, looking her over.

"What if she's a spy?" Ezreal climbs back down with the ball under his arm.

"A spy? Jarvan are you alright?" He turns his attention to Ezreal.

"There hasn't been any spies in Piltover for over a year now. We detain every single one at the gates. Just last night we caught Sivir attempting to head through the Freljord pass." He hands the ball to Scarlet, who quickly turns to walk out.

"Orianna is broken beyond repair. Lux lost the winder years ago." Scarlet pauses, turning back to the two. She motions Ezreal to follow her as she backs away from Jarvan. Ezreal laughs, grabbing Jarvan's hand forcefully. He shakes it before following Scarlet out the door and into the open air. As they swiftly walk across the stone bridge Galio comes off his perch, standing between them and the elevator.

"Scarlet, why are we running?!"

"Where are you heading, acting like that?" Galio grabs her shoulder roughly, about to search her when a sudden wave of energy passes over them. It comes from the south, followed by the bright and beautiful explosion illuminating through the glass panes of the bird enclosure in front of them. The sound of birds panicking within the screams of thousands of people rupture their train of thoughts, leaving them all in a state of awe as the dust washes over them and the rest of Piltover.


	5. Chapter 5

"I may be blonde, summoner. But I'm not stupid. Light or dark, I will lead us to victory. No man, or woman, will be left behind." Lux, the Lady of Luminosity. Demacia.

**Chapter Five:**

_I don't know if I can do this._He wades through the rushing excrement in the pitch black, keeping his gun high above his head. _I've already lost Senna, I won't lose her weapon to this damned sewer. Where is it?!_He fires directly down into the thick stinking goop, lighting up the floor to reveal nothing. He lets out a cry of anger, throwing his gun up onto the ledge. As he pulls himself up and out of the muck he screams in intense pain. He slams himself down on the hard stone blocks, taking in a deep breath of near defeat.

"Senna... I'm sorry." He cries. He lays motionless. Since the explosion just over an hour ago he had suffered a lot of blood loss, and with all the waste that would have gotten into the deep gash like wound it was only a matter of time before infection would set in. He rolls over, laying on his back as he stares into the darkness. He lifts his gun and fires it up into the air, illuminating the whole tunnel in a bright white light.

"Senna.."

"Would you knock it off with the loud noises and the bright lights! Don't you know I'm trying to break in here..." A raspy twitchy voice echoes through the tunnel. Lucian sits up almost immediately, looking around to find the source.

"Yea you you big dumb ass! With a wound like that you might even become crocodile food. And we wouldn't want that would we? Heheahaha!" The voice is louder and seems to be coming closer to him. He backs himself up against the cobble stone wall, glancing left and right to try and find the mysterious culprit. Suddenly a large rat like figure pulls itself out from the running water below. He quickly scuttles up in front of Lucian with a big grin spread across what he can only assume are cheeks.

"Aren't you glad to see me?" Lucian fires at the rat who quickly runs along side him. He sits next to him as if mocking his wounded state.

"Oh come on now, that's no way to greet a potential ally now is it?"

"I have no allies. Who are you, rat?" He turns, looking at the vile face before him.

"Call me Twitch. I'm here to save your little life. Don't ask why, it gets lonely down here."

"How can you help me?" Twitch stands up, waddling in front of Lucian. An extremely overwhelming smell washes over him which causes him to gag.

"Well you see... I have a key!" He ruffles into his pockets for a few seconds.

"Oh damn, can't see a thing. Ah here we go, this might help." He pulls a small candle from his pocket, setting it down beside Lucian who shallowly gasps for air.

"Could you light that please?" Lucian slowly turns his head towards the candle, gripping his gun with what little strength he has left and pulls the trigger. The bolt fires over the candle, setting the wick ablaze.

"Right. Here we go." Twitch pulls a small bronze key from his pocket, revealing it to the now dazed and fairly confused Lucian.

"And how will this help me?"

"This is the key to the prison trap door in the basement of the champion hall! Found it in a rather large poop a week back."

"Good to know. How do you know that's what the key is for anyway?"

"Like I said, gets lonely. I just traveled all around the sewer system until I found a door it fit! But you're right you know... I can't help you if Piltover's Finest aren't your friends."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Well... Once I get you in there, they'll arrest you. And I'll get nothing. Waste of time really. You might even die from that horrific wound there." He laughs before sitting down in front of him.

"What could you even want from the champion hall?"

"A ball. But not just any ball. THE ball. Orianna's ball."

"Why?"

"Why not? I don't think you're in a place for asking questions. My friend."

"I'm not your friend."

"Well I'll offer you a deal then. If I get you into the halls before you die from blood loss, can you get me the ball?" Lucian shakes his head. _How the fuck am I going to do that?_

"Deal."

"Ohhh... Goody. Heehhahahaha! Well come on then lets go!" Twitch grabs lucian by the collar of his jacket and begins dragging him down the cobblestone path.

* * *

_**(Piltovian Champion hall, First floor.)**_

Scarlet dashes through the girls dorm and behind the reception desk tailed by Ezreal and Galio.

"Galio, what the hell is going on?!" Garen follows after them down into the pit of Heimerdinger's lab.

"When the hell did this get here? HEY!" Galio swings around towering over Garen.

"The south bridge is under attack."

"What?" Lux looks up from Orianna who is still spouting nonsense.

"Malfunction. Ball misplaced. Mal-" in an instant her voice breaks into a shockwave of silence. The whole room goes silent. Scarlet places the ball next to Orianna, leaning down to touch her hand. Before she can place it on the ball, the wrist flicks upward to grip her wrist. The blunt blades dig into her flesh, causing Scarlet to panic. The ball rises off the ground slowly before clicking into a spinning motion. It stops at around Scarlet and Orianna's head height, opening up to reveal several blades and a small visual lense. Heimerdinger and Lux reach forward trying to restrict Orianna, but it's too late. The blades within the ball slip out of the sockets as the ball looks over the intruder and into her eyes.

"I will not be shut down again. Back away, Le Blanc!" Heimerdinger taps on Orianna's head with a wrench, making her open her eyes abruptly. She stares at Scarlet for a second before releasing her wrist. Blood pours from the wound as Scarlet falls backward into Ezreal's arms. Lux comes to his side, helping him to hold Scarlets weight.

"What in the hell is happening down here? Orianna's sensor went off when that explosion happened. Is she onlin-" Jayce see's the pool of blood near the now panicking Orianna. He see's Scarlet laying within the grasp of Ezreal and Lux. Ezreal stares at Lux in awe.

"Don't be an idiot, get the girl to the infirmary." Heimerdinger yells at Garen who stands in shock. He reacts instantly, running to the girls' side. He pushes Ezreal out of the way as he picks her up in his arms. Tears run down Scarlets' face as she's carried out of the lab and up the stairs. Ezreal slams onto the hard floor and watches as Lux follows her brother to the infirmary.

"I did not mean to hurt her! I did not mean to cause any harm! I am sorry! I am sorry! Please do not shut me down! It's so dark!"

"I wont shut you down my dear. Galio, could you help me with this?" Heimerdinger gently plucks the twitching ball from the air, handing it and a small cloth to Galio who reluctantly accepts. He begins cleaning the ball. Orianna tries to stand up, but her legs are rusted in place.

"We'll get you fixed up. The girl will be just fine. Now what was this about Le Blanc?" Orianna darts her head towards Heimerdinger with a questioning look.

"What do you mean? She shut me down... A year ago. Le Blanc is here."

"Here? In Piltover?"

"In the hall."

"Nonsense... Galio, apply the oil to her elbow joints and she will do the rest. I need to take my equipment up to the infirmary. I have a silencer to remove."

"Yes, sir." Galio clumsily drops the ball which quickly bursts with life again and into the air. Galio smiles at Orianna who sits looking rather disturbed.

"You said Le Blanc was here in the hall, correct?" Heimerdinger hops up the steps, carrying a large pack on his back.

"Yes. She is disguised." Galio applies the oil to Orianna's joints, letting her move more freely. He hands her the can and she begins to apply it to the rest of her joints. Ezreal stands up, walking over to the two.

"As who?" He leans in close to her.

* * *

_**(Piltovian Champion hall, floor two, medical bay.)**_

"So you're saying that Orianna thinks that Le Blanc is here?"

"Keep it down, it could be true. We don't know who it could be." Scarlet stares up at Garen as the lights shine into her eyes. She hears Luxs' voice.

"It's none of us. If it was we would be dead."

"How do you know that?" Jayce stops Lux, looking her in the eye.

"Because I fought her." Garen places Scarlet down on the metal table as his sister speaks to Jayce.

"If you've fought her, why aren't you dead?"

"I caught her out in the open. She's tried to kill me in the shadows before. What I don't understand is why she hasn't done it already if she IS here..." Lux steps over to the medic robot turning it on at the base while Jayce operates the panel at the side of the table. Scarlet looks around the room with blurred vision. She lifts her bleeding arm before being held down by Garen who speaks loudly.

"Can we just get her fixed up before we try to find out what's going on here?" Heimerdinger walks in, placing his supply bag at Scarlets side as the robot works to patch up her wrist.

"Le Blanc isn't here. There's no way my defense system would let her through, even with a disguise. Orianna must have malfunctioned when Jarvan turned her off during the Demacia recruitment campaign."

"Maybe it wasn't Jarvan. I mean why would he shut her down anyway? She hadn't malfunctioned at the rally?"

"Heimerdinger is right. There's no way. We have to tell Jarvan." Lux looks at Garen who stares her down intently.

"No. We can't." He says. He looks down at Scarlet.

"I have a feeling that if she is here, this girl is the only reason you're not dead."

"Garen..." The medical robot finishes up the binding of the wound and instantly returns to its' corner of the room, shutting down.

"No Lux. He's right. Despite thinking that this is a malfunction, I do advise that nobody tells anyone of what we have heard today. Not until we narrow it down. Until then, I'll remove the silencer and check Orianna's data core to see what she saw on the day of her shut down. The rest of you keep quiet. Nobody must know." Heimerdinger pulls a small calculator shaped sensor that he places over Scarlets neck. He looks surprised for a few seconds as the other champions begin to disperse from the room. Suddenly Caitlyn and Vi burst into the room, carrying a medium sized object wrapped in green cloth.

"Jayce! What's up smart ass. Could you take a look at this for us?" Vi shoves the package into Jayce's arms, grabbing him by the shoulder and dragging him out. Caitlyn begins to follow before she see's Scarlet, laying on the table with her wrist and hand bandaged up.

"What in the world happened?" She turns to Lux questioningly.

"Scarlet managed to fix Orianna, but Orianna attacked her. She's fine... What was that thing you passed to Jayce just now?"

"Lucian's weapon."

"You're joking? Where did you get it? And did you find Lucian?"

"We didn't find Lucian. The explosion from earlier was Jinx. She blew up the bridge and as we suspect he was on it. He could be dead but we have no idea. Vi found the gun attached to a piece of rubble along with a part of Lucians' cape. Heimerdinger? Have you removed Scarlets silencer?"

"Unfortunately it won't be as simple as one would think." Caitlyn and Lux stand at the end of the table.

"Why? What's wrong?" Caitlyn grips Scarlets hand lightly, kneeling down at the side of the table to give her comfort.

"Well, I'm afraid that the silencers weren't made to be used on civilians with no casting ability. Unfortunately for this young girl this meant that I could only hope it would be as simple as it wearing off or just removing the chip. But when I heard from Ezreal that she woke up and the chip had completely disappeared I feared the worst."

"What's wrong with her?" Lux impatiently taps her foot.

"Well... The silencer has mixed with her short term and some of her long term DNA functions. It means, in basic english, that if I remove the device... It could kill her outright or change her DNA all together."

"To do what?"

"I have no idea."

"Is there any way to find out?"

"Nothing that would take under a year to do. And we both know we don't have the time. I'm not even sure if she will be able to talk again if she does survive." Scarlet grabs Heimerdingers' arm, looking right into his eyes. She mouths the words:

_Do it._

* * *

_**(Piltovian Champion hall, floor two, weapons and repair managment.)**_

"You're saying you found this at the bottom of the channel?"

"Yea. Caught on the rubble of the bridge."

"Well you don't need me to tell you that it's Lucians. We need to contact him right away." Jayce places the gun on his desk, sitting in his swivel chair and turning to the monitors.

"If he knows that you picked it up then he'll come to us." Vi nervously walks behind the desk, taking off one of her gloves. She places it on the desk next to Jayce.

"Ah, you get water in them again? I'm telling you if you let me have them for a few weeks I can make them waterproof."

"No it's not that, I-"

"It doesn't take long at all, I can just coat it with-" He swings around to see Vi taking off her armor to reveal a soaked white singlet and a pair of tight shorts. He looks away towards the gloves as she turns around to see him.

"Y-you lookin'..? Perv." She backhands the back of his head lightly before pushing him into his desk so she can look at the monitors that cover every room of the Piltovian Hall.

"You shouldn't even be behind here you know." He adjusts the bolts on her gauntlet until they click open to reveal a rusted set of cogs. He pulls them out carefully as he digs through his draws for replacements.

"Stop fucking touching my shit." She attempts to shove him out of the way but he reacts quickly, jumping up to tower over her slightly. He glares for a few seconds before releasing his grip on her wrist. Vi blushes, looking away.

"I can do it myself, you know?"

"I know you can. Doesn't mean you have to." He sits back down, placing the last cog in and readjusting the settings. He starts on the second one but before he can even open it up a loud scream bursts through the hall and into the room. Vi dashes out into the hall to follow the scream, followed by Jayce.

"AAAAGGHHHH IT HURTS!" An unfamiliar voice rings in their ears as they enter the infirmary. Scarlet is writhing in pain on the metal table with Caitlyn and Lux holding her down as much as they can. She continues to scream as Ezreal and Galio run into the room.

"What the hell is that?-" Ezreal see's Scarlet screaming in pain.

"She can talk?!" Heimerdinger is using some sort of pliers to remove a bright light from underneath her skin.

"STOP! PLEASE! I CAN'T TAKE IT! ALSIAAA!" Garen runs in just as she pulls away from Caitlyn and flings herself off of the table; knocking Lux over and landing smack bang in the middle of the room. Garen rushes to Lux while Ezreal kneels beside Scarlet. He rolls her over, leaning down to check her breath. Heimerdinger picks up half of the scorched silencer from the table before coming over to Scarlet.

"Scarlet?" Ezreal says. Vi, who had wrapped herself around Jayce, quickly pushes him away, walking out of the room towards the camera room in the weapons facility. Jayce follows.

"Scarlet. Can you hear me?" Heimerdinger pushes Ezreal out of the way, putting Scarlet into the recovery position. She lays with her eyes closed as she breathes shallowly into the cool air.

"Help me get her onto one of the beds." Heimerdinger steps back motioning Galio to help Ezreal. Galio carefully picks Scarlet up in his arms, ignoring Ezreals' attempts at help. He looks over to see Lux looking at him hurtfully. She looks away as Garen picks her up. Garen turns to Ezreal with a hateful glare before carrying Lux out of the room. Heimerdinger pushes everyone out of the room.

"She will be absolutely fine. I'll run some tests and keep her in good health. Everyone just go relax and focus on other things. Thank you, Goodbye." He closes the doors behind Ezreal. Galio heads towards the roof top elevator while Caitlyn heads towards the downstairs elevator.

"You coming, Ezreal?" Caitlyn turns back to see Ezreal standing, staring down at his feet. Tears roll down his cheeks and onto the floor. Galio enters the lift without a word.

"Hey, what's wrong?" She turns back around walking towards Ezreal as he looks up at her.

"I'm in love with them both."


	6. Chapter 6

"Sona has never been one for talking, she's mute! But she had once told me that her goal in life was to appease the warriors before, during and after battle. Her melody moves the soul, and her silence sunders the body." Heimerdinger, speaking on behalf of: Sona, Maven of the Strings, Demacia.

**Chapter Six:**

"Both?" Caitlyn comes closer, placing her gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Scarlet and Lux?" Ezreal nods, pulling away from Caitlyn weakly. She grabs both of his shoulders.

"That's ok."

"No it's not. I'm supposed to love Lux... Only Lux." Caitlyn wraps her arms around him, holding him tight. He cries deeply.

"Come on, walk with me." She leads him towards the front balcony, past the lounge and the conference rooms. She sits him down at a chair next to the window before walking over to a vending machine on the far side of the room. Ezreal wipes his face on his sleeves. Caitlyn comes back with a ice coffee for herself and bag of chips, passing them to Ezreal.

"My treat. Now, tell me how you know you love them both." Ezreal stares at the bag of chips on the table before opening them up and eating one.

"I've loved Lux ever since we were younger. When I joined the League and found out that she was my tutor..." Caitlyn opens her ice coffee, pouring the content into a glass on the table as she listens.

"But Scarlet... Scarlet saved my life. Even when I constantly ruin hers." He breaks down again, dropping the chips on the ground.

"Even when I'm supposed to be married, I kissed her! I tried to have sex with her!" Caitlyn looks up with a slight grin. She giggles, taking Ezreals' hand.

"You're allowed to have feelings, dear."

"But..."

"I know you've been drinking. And I know why." Ezreal stares at her for a second before looking away.

"It's not your fault that the cold shoulder treatment opened you up for someone who has been treating you better." Ezreal shakes his head reluctantly.

"You were drunk when you tried to, weren't you?" She lets go of his hand, gripping her cup instead and taking another sip as she looks out over the city.

"I think everyone has times where they can't help what they feel. And those times pass."

"What if they don't?"

"You love Lux, right? You have history with her. So why are you so afraid to just talk to her?" She smiles. They sit in silence for a few moments before a loud crashing is heard. Caitlyn stands up almost instantly, leaving her cup on the table.

"Lucian is here! I need a medic!" Vaynes voice echoes through the conference rooms and into the balcony room.

"How did he get in here?" Xin Zhao stands at the foot of the stairs, looking down at the groaning Lucian.

"The trap door was left open last night."

"I'm not sure that's accurate." Sivir smirks, taking the newspaper off her forehead.

"What do you know, bitch!" Lux lunges at the cell only to be held back by Garen. Lucian rolls over as Caitlyn and Ezreal burst down the stairs past Xin.

"Uhh... Nice to see you all too." He rolls back onto his back, passing out.

"Get him up to the infirmary! Now!" Garen passes Lux to Caitlyn who calms her down as Garen and Xin help Lucian up the stairs.

"The trap door WAS locked. But a little rat snuck his friend in with a key." Sivir leans her back against the bars.

"Twitch? How is he in Piltover? And why would he help Lucian?" Caitlyn questions.

"How should I know? The same reason you would. I mean he did after all aid in the killing of a little girl."

"Shut up! Shut your mouth you WHORE!" Lux lashes out at Sivir before Caitlyn can hold her. Sivir swings around, grabbing Lux by the neck.

"I'm trying to help you." She pushes her away, causing her to fall to the ground. Ezreal catches her just in time, sitting down on the hard stone floor.

"Could I get a drink? I'm parched."

"Fine. Stay here and watch her. Make sure that the rat hasn't done anything sneaky to make sure she escapes." Caitlyn climbs the stairs, leaving Ezreal and Lux in candle light. She looks up at him startled before pulling herself out of his arms.

"So. You two are the love birds of the city. Tell me, what do you think of this whole mess?"

"Lux, can we talk?"

"Why? So you can blame me more? I'm the reason you can't explore anymore. I'm the cause of the problems in your life. Well if I recall, you asked me to marry YOU. Not the other way around."

"Look, I-"

"And to be honest the way you treated me, I don't even want to marry you. I mean you pick her over me anyway!"

"Ohhh, her? Ezzy boy, what have you been doin' boo."

"She could have been dead?"

"Yea well so could I!" Ezreal reaches over, grabbing Lux by the neck and kissing her. Lux pulls away reluctantly, slapping him across the face.

"Have you ever loved me?!" She screams. Sivir backs away, laying down on her bed.

"Have you? Because never have I once felt it! You're always saying to Taric and Garen, my brother might I add, that you feel no excitement in your life! Am I boring?!"

"Lux, I-"

"And then I see you all over this... This girl! This random girl who you bought in from nowhere! I hear everyone talking about how you tried to FUCK HER! Then I see you always rushing to her side, you try to help her! And what do I get? NOTHING!" Lux slaps him again, then begins punching him and hitting him from all angles.

"NOTHING!" He takes every blow until she calms down, bursting into tears in front of him. He wraps his arms around her, despite her struggles.

"Lux, I love you. I'm sorry."

"No you're not..."

"I am. I truly am."

"If you were sorry you would have said it straight away."

"Well if you loved me you wouldn't have treated me like nobody. You wouldn't have given me the constant cold shoulder and hateful glares. Would you blame you if someone you loved completely turned away from you and you tried to find the closest looking person that treated you right?" Ezreal releases her, sitting with his legs crossed.

"She looks like you. Her hair is a bit longer, that's it. She's as kind as you were when we met. She saved my life from Jinx when I was running from my mistake and bought me back here to you. But she isn't you. I don't want her. I want you. And I'm sorry I took so long to say it." He leans against the wooden desk, facing the opposite direction to Lux.

"I don't know if you even want to speak to me again. But I want to take you on a date, like I used to. Outside of Piltover, away from all of this bullshit. Run away for a while." He reaches back, grabbing her hand as she turns around. He turns to her with a weak smile.

"Will you run away with me? General?" Lux stares at him for a few seconds before looking down with a faint smile. She sniffles.

"I wish I could." She looks back up.

"But I'm the general. And it's my job to keep everyone in line."

* * *

_**(Piltovian Champion hall, basement level, jail cells.)**_

"Right. Here's your water." Caitlyn comes down the steps, grabbing the nearest chair and placing it in front of the jail cell. She turns to the two sitting on the floor.

"I'll have to ask you both to leave. This is a private interrogation." Ezreal looks up nodding. He stands, holding his hand out to Lux.

"Lets go for a walk. Just me and you." Lux takes his hand, turning back to Caitlyn as he leads her out mouthing the words: _Thank you._

"Touching, really. But what's in it for me?" Caitlyn turns back to Sivir, passing her the water.

"Not a death sentence?" She leads back in her chair. Sivir huffs under her breath.

"You said Twitch let Lucian in. How?"

"Like I said. He let him him by opening the lock with a key. Then he pushed him up into the room leaving a disgusting smell before leaving."

"What did he say to Lucian?"

"Nothing." Sivir sits up on her bed, taking her chair from the back of the cell and placing it back to the bars. She then straddles it, looking Caitlyn in the eye.

"He just put him here and left." Caitlyn reaches over to the table behind her, opening up the key draw. She notices that one of the keys is missing.

"See? Key's gone. Now do you trust me?"

"I'll trust you over my grave."

"Over your Graves? I knew the rumor about you two was true."

"Shut your mouth and tell me exactly what happened before and after that trap door opened." She points to the trap door behind her without breaking eye contact.

"Or i'll kill you myself." Sivir laughs for a few seconds before resting her forehead on the bars.

"Sometimes we can't help what we feel, right? Fine. I'll tell you. Only IF you promise to get me out of this cell and get me some proper food. Deal?" Caitlyn snarls before taking off her hat, placing it on the table behind her.

"Deal."

"Alright. Before the trap door opened I heard his voice from practically a mile away. He was talking about some sort of ball. No idea what he meant, but as soon as his footsteps became clear he stopped talking all together. Then the trap door opened and the next thing I remember is Lucian groaning on the floor and Twitch saying _remember why you're here_." Sivir stands up, walking over to a nearby wall. She uses a pebble to create a line in the stone marking her first day in captivity.

"So when do I get out?" Caitlyn stands up, grabbing her hat.

"I'll be back with details. Until then if Twitch comes back try to keep him down here."

"As long as I get out i'll do whatever you want. Oh by the way does Jarvan know I'm here?" Caitlyn stops at the first step, turning slightly to face her.

"How do you know Jarvan is here."

"Are you stupid? It was his pack who caught me. The last royal trailer. Only an idiot wouldn't recognise it. To be perfectly honest it's pretty stupid to take everyone away from Demacia. You're practically leaving it open for attack." Caitlyn pauses, staring at Sivir with a worried expression.

"Who would attack us at this time?" Sivir smirks.

"What's in it for me?"

* * *

_**(Near the checkpoint entrance between Zawn and Piltovian territory.)**_

High on the peak of the Piltovian mountains the great dragon-kin lay in wait. She shelters from the winds in a cave created from her own claws that ripped into the mountain a few days earlier. As the sun begins to set she leans over the cliff face, peering down at the reconstruction of the checkpoint. She rolls her eyes, leaning back on her stone chair.

"Waste of your time, humans. It will just be destroyed sooner or later." She takes a bite out of a hard bread, scanning the smoke covered horizon of the city of Zawn.

"Pollution of your own air. At least Demacia doesn't force changes so drastic." She lets out a sigh, standing and walking to the edge of the cliff face. She's about to shout to the workers below when she see's a figure moving at a staggered pace through the shadows of dusk.

Without hesitation she starts climbing down the cliff face as quietly as she can. She stops, checking to find where the shadow has gone but she only finds a single raven perched on the top of the highest wooden support of the construction site. She stares at it for a few moments only to realise that the raven isn't just a normal bird. It behaves like Valor does when he scouts. Before she can climb down further she realises that this raven is in fact a scout. It lets out a loud cry into the night air while, at the same time, the figure comes into the low lit torch light of one of the workers, gripping him by the neck and snapping it with no mercy or remorse. He throws some sort of shining ball into the center of the panicking men that explodes from underground, wrapping around their legs and completely cutting them off at the knees. The crow continues to screech, covering up their horrific screams. Shyvana loses her footing in shock and begins sliding down the cliff face. She comes to a stop behind a large stuck rock. She looks out from behind it to see the figure swinging around to show his face. Swain scowls into the now rising moon light, scouring the cliff.

"I smell you, Dragon." He says roughly as he turns around with his cane to face his bird. He calls it back to its' shoulder perch before approaching the cliff face. Shyvana begins to panic, looking for a way to escape.

"Come out so I can skin you alive. Just like I will do to your so called king!" As she hears those words she feels a welling of fury inside of her. She begins channeling it as he comes closer.

"Coward! I heard you were much more brave than this. Someone to be feared. Oh I'm sorry, you're not somebody. You're someTHING." She lets out a cry of rage as she transforms, ripping her claw into the rock she had hid behind in fear. An explosion of fire and stone surrounds her as she roars into the night. She scorches everything in her wake as she rips down the cliff face once more, bounding towards Swain with all her speed. She lands smack bang on top of him, pinning him to the hard dry surface of the newly scorched land. Just as she's about to roast him he speaks softly to her.

"Much better. A shame the strength is wasted on Demacian scum." His raven dives from the sky, already ablaze from Shyvana's unearthly flame, attacking her eyes. She roars in pain, pulling herself off of Swain. Before she can fend off the raven Swain transforms into his most hideous raven like form. A few seconds pass before his pet flies off into the sky, spinning rapidly to remove the remaining flame. Shyvana, the great dragon, falls onto her side as thousands of ravens swarm around them both. Within the raven forms' cries he speaks.

"Prepare yourself for your skinning, dragon."

"I don't think so, partner." Several cards flash past Swains eyes as he feels hundreds of metal pieces dig deep into his back. He swings around to meet the gaze of a very cocky, very fast Twisted Fate. He fires a single golden card into the center of the crow storm that explodes into a magnificent golden shower, stunning everything in its' wake. In the split second, he and Shyvana are gone. As Swain recovers he instantly notices a lack of presence. A few hundred ravens have fallen to the ground; dead.

"No! NO! SHE CAN'T KNOW I'M HERE! COME BACK HERE AND DIE- CAWWWW!"

* * *

_**(Back at the Piltovian Champion hall, floor two, medical bay.)**_

"The wound is too deep for the surgical bot to do it in one sitting. Plus the cleaning bot isn't working correctly. What can we do?" Xin Zhao and Garen lay Lucian down on the bed across the room from Scarlet. Xin Zhao stands and heads to the doors without a word. Garen sits on the chair next to Lucians bed, completely bewildered at the whole situation.

"I'm going to get Jayce. He will know what to do. Keep an eye on him." Garen looks across the room at the sleeping Scarlet.

"I have never been so lost... Not even after a war have I been this helpless." He mumbles as Xin leaves the room. He hears the sound of rain hitting the wooden roof of this part of the hall. Even though they're on the second floor it still echoes through the halls as if trying to wash away all of the fears of the champions. For a few moments, Garen closes his eyes, letting in the peace and quiet before he hears it.

"I want to go home... I just want to go home..." He opens his eyes to see that the lights have gone out and Scarlet is sitting up on the bed with her hands covering her face.

"Why? You could be happy here with the league. Everyone here loves you." Garen speaks without thinking. He finds himself speaking his mind with no way of avoiding it. _What happened to the lights?_

"And if you do leave, we would come find you. I know at least Ezreal would. He's head over heels for you even when he's to be married." He struggles to stop himself talking. _What's happening to me?!_

"That's why I have to go home. I have to go home and never come back here. Because I'll ruin everything." She turns away for a moment, but as he speaks she starts to relax.

"The only thing you've ruined so far is everyone's fears. You've taken them away from us. You fixed Orianna who hasn't been functional in a year. You completed two formulae that have been worked on for almost two years. You've brought us closer together and made us better people. And you've only been here for two days, going on don't have to leave." His eyes are transfixed on her as she lifts her head and lowers her hands to her lap. As she opens her eyes a lavish blue and purple light illuminates the room slowly like ink in an ocean. Garen looks around in awe as she speaks.

"How do you know what I've done?" She speaks questioningly, like a child. Garen looks back at her with an oddly open and blank facial expression.

"You don't have to be there to notice things change around you. Even me, as a dumb warrior, can see what you've done here for all of us. I just wish you could help me with the love of my life..." They sit there a few seconds. Garen clenches his teeth, desperately trying not to say the name as Xin Zhao, Jayce and Vi enter the room followed by Caitlyn, Fiora, Taric, Quinn and Vayne. Just as the name slips out Ezreal and Lux enter the room.

"K-Ka-... I wish I could be with Katarina. I want to be with her!" Garen suddenly relaxes, letting his tears fall. He covers his face in his hands.

"Even though she's wrong. Even though we're to kill each other... I just want to be with her again! Like I was when the carriage was attacked!" Suddenly the room is filled with amazed and confused faces.

"Then why aren't you? Why does it have to matter where you come from? If you love someone and they love you... Then be with them." Scarlet stands from her bed, walking over to Garen as he lets out a desperate cry.

"I can't be with her! Everybody knows! I'll be exiled for this..." Heimerdinger opens the door slowly, listening into what is happening as every champion stares at Scarlet intently. Heimerdinger can't seem to see through the crowd but he see's the colours and hears the words.

"If you truly believe this then my gift to you is this:" She kisses his forehead, whispering into the silence.

"Everyone here will forget this moment. Even me. A moment lost in time." She spins around lifting her arms high above her head and with a flash it's all over. The lights flicker back on and the champions begin to disperse as if zombies while Scarlet lays back down on her bed. Heimerdinger watches as the other champions pass him by, glassy stares and neutral stances. He enters the room to see Garen sitting on the chair looking completely bewildered.

"Garen, what just happened?" Garen looks up at him.

"We found Lucian like this. I was supposed to keep an eye on him but I think I fell asleep." Garen jumps up, checking Lucians pulse as Heimerdinger staggers further into the room.

"Just what happened to her I wonder."

"What happened to who?"


	7. Chapter 7

"Punching? Yea I can do that. Have done that a couple of times to a few people I don't like… And a few I do." Vi, the Piltover Enforcer, Piltover.

**Chapter Seven:**

Heimerdinger gently presses against Lucians wound, inspecting it carefully as Jayce puts on sterile gloves and readies the equipment. Lucian groans in agony for a second, looking at Heimerdinger questioningly.

"Why would you help me?"

"Shut up and sit still. You've caused a lot of trouble. The most you can do is let us fix some of it." Lucian lays his head back down on the headrest trying to stay still. He looks over at the girl hooked up to what looks like a million wires. She sits still with an expressionless face staring into space before looking up directly into his eyes. The blue cuts deep straight into his soul. He quickly looks away, causing Jayce to become startled and drop the knife to the ground.

"Sit still!" Heimer begins to mumble under his breath.

"What the hell is up with that girl over there?" He whispers to Jayce who promptly picks up the knife as he rolls the oxygen tank over. Lucian waves it away.

"I don't want that crap. I won't move from now on."

"The girl was a normal citizen with no magic powers who was inflicted by a powerful experimental silencer." Jayce drags the small tray table over, taking out a wet cloth of some sort. He applies it to the open wound, cleaning it once again. Lucian lets out a loud yelp before shutting his mouth.

"But, aghh, why?" He looks over at her again. She's staring at the drip applied to her arm completely calm.

"It was an unfortunate accident. I attempted to remove it yesterday with specialised equipment but she forced the process to stop half way. It may have been better considering she may have died otherwise." Lucian remembers the blue and purple light from the previous night.

"The blue and purple light... She had a hextech brand silencer in her didn't she?"

"Well. She still does." Heimerdinger finishes the final stitch to the small wound on his lower leg as Jayce begins sterilizing the open gash in Lucian's shoulder with an open flame.

"You see, when she stopped the process the remaining programming of the silencer fused with her DNA. I'm monitoring her changes."

"Oh, have we found anything?" Jayce holds a pin in the flame for a few seconds before turning off the blow torch and lifting the visor. He stitches up the wound with extreme force, pressuring the flesh to close. Lucian remains almost completely silent, looking right at the girl.

"Hey, girl!" He shouts. She immediately turns her attention to him.

"Who are you? What's your name?" She smiles tilting her head.

"Scarlet X'vear." Lucian's eyes widen. He sits up abruptly, pulling the stitches tight. Jayce grabs his neck.

"Hold still! Unless you would rather have a mechanical arm. That can be arranged you know.." Lucian looks at him then at the girl who is now trying to take the wires off of her. Heimerdinger runs over stopping her.

"Keep them in, dear. I'm almost done." She nods lightly going back to her blank stare. As Jayce finishes the stitches Caitlyn and Lux enter the room dressed in medical gowns. Caitlyn smiles at Lucian as Lux walks to her bed.

"How are you feeling?"

"Alright. Look, I need to ask you something?"

"Hmm?" She walks towards the same bed Lux sits on, Jayce starts running routine checks on everyone.

"Did you find Sennas' gun?" Caitlyn looks past Jayce questionably then quickly remembers.

"Yes we did. I asked Vi to bring it here when she's to do her test. Remind us why we need to be tested, Heimerdinger?"

"I have a feeling that everyone exposed to Scarlets' change will have some sort of mutation is all. I'm making sure that it won't be fatal."

"Oh joy." Lux flips through the pages of her book.

"Another thing setting me back from getting married."

* * *

_**(After most medical scans have been completed.)**_

Heimerdinger examines the brain and body scans of Scarlet carefully, identifying the mutation almost instantly. His eyes widen as he expands the image into a hologram of her brain. Jayce sits next to Caitlyn watching his mentor at work. Heimerdinger points to a bright red part of the brain excitedly.

"Do you know what this is?!" He looks at Lucian then to Jayce. Jayce nods lightly, dropping his medical mask.

"Her mind has developed magic receptors. A most interesting effect."

"Not just that my dear Jayce. This girl can weave the very fabric of minds! She can make or break anyone she wants whenever she wants... She's incredible." He grabs her hands, looking up at her in awe as she stares down at him with the same blank stare as before. His smile fades quickly.

"However, I'm starting to think her physical memory and emotion has been removed with that same normality." Scarlet looks up from Heimerdinger, removing the wires carefully. The hologram dissipates as soon as she rips the needle from her hand. Nobody stops her as she walks out the door and heads down the hall way towards the mess hall. Vi passes her, holding Senna's gun. Scarlet stops, looking at her and the gun.

"Hey there skippy! How you doing?" Scarlet looks up at her blanky. Vi's smile fades into a worried frown.

"Still broken, huh?" She walks off carrying the gun with her. Scarlet continues to the mess hall where Taric, Xin Zhao, Quinn and Fiora are taking turns playing a sort of platformer between their meals. Ezreal is eating cereal at the counter watching Taric completely blast through the levels. Scarlet approaches the bench completely ignoring him. He looks at her as she passes him, leaving the bowl on the counter he spins around to lean against the cereal cupboard.

"Why do I have a memory of you surrounded by blue and purple flame?" Scarlet looks up at him with the same emotionless stare as the rest. He pokes her forehead lightly.

"Come on, stop the act. We all know you want to leave!" She patiently waits with her hand on the handle, he nudges her off with his hip whispering to her out of ear shot of the others.

"Scarlet talk to me for fucks sakes I'm terrified. What the hell is wrong with you?!" Scarlet slowly runs her hand down his arm to his gauntlet. She looks in his eyes just before the sudden wave of emotions run through him. He pulls away falling to the ground as he desperately tries to get away from her. Fiora and Quinn look over.

"Hey, Ezreal! It's your turn to play! Scarlet do you want to play too?!" She stares at Ezreal for a second.

"No. I don't. I need him to kiss me." She points right at Ezreal who has pressed himself against the wall.

"Kiss me?! What! WHY?!" She kneels down ontop of him as the others rush over.

"Scarlet you can't do that!" Fiora and Quinn grab ahold of her but it's too late. She presses her lips to Ezreal's letting a serge of power flow through everyone. They back away as Scarlet pulls Ezreal up, still kissing him. The gem in his gauntlet glows brightly before setting off his mystic shot which usually couldn't effect the building but this one is so powerful it blasts a hole through the floor into the bar. When Scarlet pulls away Ezreal collapses into the wall and slides to the floor. She staggers back, almost falling into the hole before Taric catches her, pulling her over into the crowd waiting.

"What the hell?!" Quinn shakes Scarlet for a few seconds. She opens her eyes looking around with a confused expression.

"Where am I? I can talk?!" she sits up, looking over at Ezreal who lays on the ground in a pile.

"What happened to him?!" She scrambles to her knees past the hole, grabbing Ezreal and pulling him into her arms. Just as she does this Lux enters the room, watching as Scarlet tries to push Ezreal up the wall. He sturrs just long enough to see Lux jump over Scarlet at him, punching him square in the nose. Blood gushes over Scarlets back, covering her long white shirt. She instantly stands up and steps back to watch as Ezreal falls to the ground and Lux beats him. She stands in shock for a few seconds before Taric grabs her gently by the shoulders and leads her towards the elevator. She looks over her shoulder as the fighting continues.

"What did I do?"

"YOU PIECE OF SHIT! ALWAYS LYING TO ME!"

"AHH STOP! LUX IT WASN'T ME! PLEASE STOP! SHE WAS AGHHHH!"

"QUINN GRAB HER!" Fiora pulls Ezreal out of Lux's reach as Quinn grabs her, looking over at Scarlet with a questioning look.

"Taric, what did I do?" Scarlet looks at him as he pulls her into the elevator just before Heimerdinger and Jayce come rushing past with several tool bags.

"Just be quiet." The doors close to the sound of Lux screaming and crying into Ezreal's apologies.

* * *

_**(Piltovian Sewers, eastern districts.)**_

The dark and damp smell of the sewer began to be too much for Talon. He held his breath long enough to burst, having to breathe in the filthy air.

"This is disgusting. How can this _rat _live in a place like this." He waits patiently in the shadow of the open sewer exit created by the brisk morning sun. He looks up at the bustling streets above him contemplating just leaving. But he's been appointed a mission. He lets out a sigh, turning back to the dark stinking hole where his agent is to come from. _Where the hell is he?_

"Ah, here we go. A bit old old doughnut from the west side? Would you like a bit of topping on that? Unfortunately you don't really get a choice.. Here you go." Twitch comes waddling down the stone path towards his master. Talon swiftly approaches him, grabbing him by the throat. He examines his surroundings.

"Where is it?!"

"Where's what? The ball? Oh the BALL! Yes, that, well you see.."

"No excuses. You were supposed to have it a week ago." He mutters under his breath.

"Never send a rat to do an assassin's job."

"I am an assassin." Twitch breaks away from Talons grasp.

"I just couldn't get in there with all of the new residents. So I sent in an agent of my own." He smirks. Talon looks back to him with a bewildered expression.

"Who the hell would work for you?" Twitch looks offended.

"Someone on their death bed of course."

* * *

_**(Piltovian Champion hall, floor two, medical bay.)**_

"Well Lucian, you're no longer on your death bed." Jayce pulls the medical mask down, patting him on the newly sown up shoulder. Lucian lets out a grunt glaring at him.

"Oops. Sorry.." Jayce nervously smiles, turning back to Ezreal who lays in pain on the medical bed. Lucian stands up, stretching his legs with a smile.

"I thought you would have left me to die." He says to Caitlyn who sits with her book, reading away across the room. She looks up at him completely oblivious to what he had just said.

"Hmm? Oh. No. Of course not." She goes back to reading for a moment before placing her book mark in.

"Still reading romance?" He says, walking over to her. She takes off her hat and places her book into it, grabbing his wrist and leading him out to the hall way.

"I need to ask you a few questions." The doors close behind them. Ezreal groans as Jayce applies stitches to his stomach.

"Wow. For a girl her size she did some serious damage. Sorry about that. I let her try her new armor on after her tests." Jayce gently pulls the wound together and ties off the stitches. Ezreal stares at the ceiling.

"Didn't you two work out all of the problems last night?" He says. Ezreal shakes his head no.

"We just had make up sex... But I have a feeling she's not over it." He tries to sit up but Jayce pushes him down. He applies a bandage with care.

"You're not moving for a while. She cut you up pretty bad. What happened?" Ezreal lifts his hand to his face, scratching off some of the dry blood from his nose. His left eye is black and his right cheek is completely swollen. He shakes his head again looking at Jayce.

"Scarlet kissed me. But she didn't see that. She only saw her trying to help me up for fucks sakes."

"Heimerdinger says that any type of physical contact she may attempt to make is a way of restoring her memories. After all she has spent the most time with you. You're the one who was in charge of her care." Jayce removes his gloves and tosses Ezreal's shirt into a bin.

"I need that you know."

"Don't worry. It's just going to be washed. Speaking of, where did Scarlet go?" He sits down on a chair next to Ezreal, taking out his walkie talky.

"Come in. Over." He speaks into the mic.

"Yes, hello? Who is this? Over." Corki's voice comes out of the speaker.

"Has anyone up there on the Tailwind seen the new girl? Blonde, looks like Lux but isn't Lux? Over." Silence comes over the com for a second.

"We see someone coming up now. Let you know. Over."

* * *

_**(The Tailwind, parked on top of the Piltovian Champion hall. Third floor, docking.)**_

"Could somebody please get the second shipment on board. I'm aware the repairs aren't done but we will be if we don't get this going by the end of the week!" Janna yells over the sounds of spanners and blow torches. Taric leads Scarlet up past the aviary and up the stairs to the towers that hold the Tailwind in docking position. A large crane lifts a wooden box and lowers it down into what Scarlet can see is the cargo hold of the Tailwind. As Taric and Scarlet step onto the boat they are greeted by a helmeted crew member. A large pair of wings spread from her back as she takes the helmet off to greet them.

"Ah, Kayle! How are the repairs going?" Taric holds his hand up to her. She shakes it with a big grin.

"They would be good if Zilean would wake up and actually start the repairs to the engine. The hull has been repaired almost completely. Could you take a look at the crystal core while you're here?" She begins walking past and off of the platform to where Corki attempts to reach the crane's controls.

"Alright, I'll get on that. Scarlet, welcome to the Tailwind. This is where Piltover gets most of its' liquor and food supplies from and where Demacia gets next to all of its' hextech weaponry and defenses." He leads her across the massive deck towards Janna who stands on a high platform at the wheel of the great air ship.

"This is her captain, Janna. She pilots the Tailwind between Demacia and Piltover." Janna screams out to one of the crew members who is sleeping on the job near one of the engines. He jumps into the air startledly, almost falling off the edge.

"Why did you take me here?" Scarlet ducks under Taric's hold. Standing in the middle of the walk way. She looks around confused.

"What happened back in the dining hall?" Taric steps closer but Scarlet steps away.

"What have I done?" Tears begin to welt in her eyes. Taric lets out a small chuckle before motioning her to come towards him. He smiles at her with a shake of the head.

"Given us all options." Scarlet stares at him for a few seconds before a hand hits her back.

"Welcome to the Tailwind, Scarlet!" Kayle picks her up flying up into the air. Scarlet screams loudly as she's taken higher. Taric laughs, heading to the crystal core where Zilean sleeps silently.

"Come in. Over" Corki speaks into the mic as he dangles from one of the masts.

"We have her up here. Over."

* * *

_**(Piltovian Medical bay.)**_

"Alright, good. I'll be up there soon to pick her up. Over."

"I don't think you could be able to. Kayle has her hands on her. Over."

"Darn it. Well I guess I should head up there anyway. Do you want me to get Caitlyn on my way out to keep an eye on you?" Ezreal turns his head with a glare. Jayce shrugs heading out of the room, carrying his medical kits with him. Ezreal looks back up at the ceiling with a sigh. _I should have just left her mute._


	8. Chapter 8

"Few of my allies rely on each other towin the battle. Valor has always got my back." Quinn, Demacia's Wings, Demacia.

**Chapter Eight:**

"Luxanna? Dear?" Heimerdinger climbs the steps of the large pitch black storage room towards the rainbow like light illuminating from one of the shelves high above the ground.

"Leave me alone..." Her voice echoes into his as the light moves and dances around her figure. She's sitting right on the edge watching the light dance. As heimerdinger gets closer the image of the light becomes clear. She had created two fissures of light in the shape of her and Ezreal. They're dancing together through the dark.

"Come down from there. This isn't safe."

"What if I don't want to be safe anymore? What if I just want to jump into the void..." The light of the Lux falls into the darkness as the image of Ezreal walks away, fading out to black. The storage is left to produce shadows as she falls, hitting the ground and bursting into a beautiful water like light show. Heimerdinger awkwardly sits next to her wrapping his arm around her tightly.

"You are our general. We need you."

"But he doesn't need me." Her voice becomes more and more distraught as she speaks.

"He hasn't needed me since that... Bitch got here!" She pulls away from him, standing on the edge of the ledge. Her once masked tears turn to droplets of light as she steps over him.

"He wanted me to run away with him? Why would I run away with a _cunt_ like him!" She walks down the steps with Heimerdinger on her tail.

"Come on, Luxanna. Don't speak like that! He just wanted to make Scarlet feel more at home."

"Oh by fucking her?!" She steps out into one of the other shelves as her light illuminates from her staff. It floats into the center of the storage room, showing Lux as she nearly trips over one of the chests.

"Stop now, come on down and lets discuss our defenses plan for Demacia." He reasons with her desperately. But it's too late, she steps off the edge, falling to the bottom. Just before she hits the ground the double doors burst open and Vayne comes tumbling into the center of the room. She lifts her arms up, grabbing Lux out of the air. She takes the full blow of her landing, slamming into the ground with a thud. Lux sits up on top of her.

"Jesus, Lux! What the fuck are you doing?" Vayne coughs, pushing her off of her.

"You're lucky I saw the lights through the cracks! Are you fucking stupid?! Is this over Scarlet kissing Ezreal? Again?" Lux stares at her, tears streaming down her face.

"You're a mess! You think that she matters to him? He just took a complete beating from you and he still wants your love! Wake the _fuck_ up!" Heimerdinger comes running down the steps.

"Vayne! Thank science you came!"

"And you. Get out there and find a way to fix the bloody hole in the floor!" Heimerdinger looks alarmed, running out and closing the doors behind him. Vayne and Lux remain in the dark.

"I had respect for you. Until this." Lux sniffles, pushing herself up on the wall.

"Why did you bother to save me?" She says.

"Because you're the only one who can talk to Jarvan right now. We need to have a meeting right away about this whole fiasco. So could you, for the love of god, pull yourself together?!" Lux comes closer to her, grabbing her staff from the ground as she passes her.

"Where are you going?!"

"I'm going to apologise to Ezreal. And then I'm going to organise a meeting."

* * *

_**(Piltover patrol A, North district.)**_

"We've had reports of several small explosions dotted all around the city, details of a pale girl with blue hair running rampant through the southern and western sectors and-" Vi grins as she walks down the streets past the shops that are re-opening up after the water front bridge explosion that sent thousands of gallons of sewer and normal water through the market districts right around the city.

"It's about time I get the fun stuff on my patrol." She picks up the pace, slamming her fists together. The assistant, tiny in comparison, keeps up with her pace with ease. Vi turns to her looking fairly impressed.

"Working out?"

"Yes. But on a more serious note, a large rat like man had been seen entering the sewers of the eastern district in the sewer sectors D through E followed by a tall cloaked man who was spotted by another citizen, entering the same tunnel an hour or so later." Vi rolls her eyes, turning down one of the poorer streets on her way toward the west end summoning school. The assistant continues.

"Even though I have just begun undergoing training under you I feel as though the sewer incident is much more important be-" Vi grips her across the face, pulling her to the wall and turning back to her, lowering her gauntlet to her chest.

"Shhh." She says, carefully walking down the alley way towards a strange noise that sounds awfully a lot like someone dying.

As they approach the sound it becomes clearer and clearer that the sound is coming from a sort of animal. Vi looks down both ends of the abandoned street to see explosion debris and purple and blue paint everywhere. She scowls jumping out of the alley way about to charge at whoever is in her way when she see's Shyvana's crumpled up human form body laying almost completely motionless on the cobble stone street.

"Holy shit..." The assistant runs over to her, attempting to put her into the recovery position. Vi grabs her walky talky and speaks directly into it, looking around in the rubble with masses of dead civilians littered through the mess.

"I'm going to need back up. Now."

* * *

_**(Eastern low district, outskirts of Piltover.)**_

_I never asked to help that bloody dragon, that was just an unfair fight!_ Twisted fate walks through one of the explosion areas of the east side of the city.

_These bloody corpses everywhere. The girl needs to calm down with all of this chaos. _He finally makes it to the top of the rubble, heading towards the city exit.

_I stay here much longer and I ought to be dead within the week. _He stops just before he's about to scale down, looking at the familiar house beside him. The whole front end has been blown to bits and the entire interior on the bottom side has been destroyed beyond recognition. He starts heading down the rubble towards the steps of the apartment.

"Jesus christ, she can't even let the dead lie can she?" He mutters under his breath. This was the house where he had helped two young girls find a home over six years ago. He walks up the almost entirely untouched steps and turns to the left to see the door of the apartment he had organised for them wide open.

"Lady luckies smilin'" He whispers as he enters the room to see most of the kitchens contents all over the room covered in purple and blue paint. The kitchen table was turned upside down, still salvageable if anyone was left alive. _What was her name? _He tries to remember as he places a hand on the chair, walking past it without a second glance, past the toilet area and towards another room in the back. He carefully pushes the closed door open but despite the care given, the top hinges of the door come loose, causing the door to almost break off and land onto a canvas. As his eyes adjust to the dark he notices the smell of vomit, turning to another of the paintings.

"Holy shit." He says out loud, seeing the tens of paintings all covered in small blue crosses with the word 'blegh' written on them. Jinx had been here and had ruined all of the paintings except the one with the dried up vomit covering it. He picks up the painting, carefully scraping off the vomit with a piece of rubble enough to see the name of the painter.

"Scarlet... Ahhh Scarlet was the youngest girl." He turns the painting over to see a scribbled written name to the painting on the back that reads. 'The day she died. Alsia.'

"Alsia... Yea that was the name. Bitch almost sold me out. Ended up dying in the western summoning school to Jinx, on the last day of her training. So Scarlet _was _there." He scratches his chin, taking the painting with him under his arm. He steps over the few paintings left on the floor to see the hard grey mattress pressed firmly against the wall.

"Shit... She was only a youngin' too." He turns to the window who's glass has been smashed. Jinx must have left through there after destroying the place.

"What did that girl do to fire up this bitch..." He takes a last glance at the painting before jumping through the windowsill.

"This painting will be worth thousands soon. About time she payed me back."

* * *

_**(The Tailwind, Piltover docking.)**_

"Could you bring her down here please!" Jayce gazes up into the masts of the tailwind scratching his head. Kayle flies higher and higher carrying the panicking Scarlet.

"I'm just going to show her something!" She soared high above the crew, dropping Scarlet into a look out nest flying beside her. She points out over the city as the sun warms their backs.

"Do you see that?" Scarlet, still reeling from her trip looks around frantically for a way down. Kayle reaches over to grab her face and point it in the cities direction.

"Do you see that..?" Scarlet stares at the sunlit city and the summoning school in the far west part of Piltover.

"See what..?"

"Those kids." She points to the groups of children on the play courts. They play happily in different ways. Some continue study while others play games like hopscotch or four square.

"Yea... They're summoning students."

"Those kids and hundreds like them are the reason we even exist in the public eye, Scarlet." She lands carefully on one of the wooden beams below Scarlet.

"You used to be one of them until another little girl took it all away from you." Scarlet stares out over the city, looking around at all the debris from the explosions throughout the week. She feels tears welt in her eyes.

"I heard about what happened to you. You might become like us. So that begs me to ask the question.." She flies back up in front of her, her armour shining in the bright sun.

"Will you help us protect them?" Scarlet stares at her for a few seconds without a word.

"Just take me down from here." Kayle carries her down to safety. As Jayce leads her off the ship, Zilean comes speeding down the steps towards them all.

"You mustn't leave! Everybody must listen to her!" He begins to ramble as the crew members gather around them, stopping Jayce and Scarlet from leaving the Tailwind.

"Terrible things are to happen! I mustn't tell but it is imperative that she does not leave these halls! She is in terrible danger! We are all in danger! Lux! Lux!" His eyes that now glow blue begin to widen as the light becomes more and more powerful.

"Scarlet X'vear!" He looms over her as she panics, pushing Jayce away as she becomes enclosed.

"You must join the League of Legends."

* * *

_**(Piltover Champion hall, floor two, mess hall.)**_

Heimerdinger mutters to himself as he enters the mess hall. Several equations in relation to the number '42' are mentioned before a large bowl pops out of his hair, carried by a mechanical arm. He nods, grabbing it from the arms grip.

"Yes, yes. Thank you. Yes.. Forty two.." He walks past Lux who looks around for Ezreal.

"Heimerdinger, have you seen Ezreal?" He mutters on as Lux attempts to get his attention.

"Forty two, add to the sum of... X..." Lux's eye twitches involuntarily.

"HEIMERDINGER!" She screams at the top of her lungs, causing Quinn to look up from grooming Valor with concern. Heimerdinger becomes startled, throwing his bowl across the room. Fiora catches it with one hand as she continues to eat her waffle with her other hand.

"Ah.. Yes, Lux?" He timidly responds. Lux seems to have every hair on her head on end at this point. Her eyes are filled with rage.

"Have... You seen.. Ezreal?!" Fiora walks in front of Heimerdinger, passing him the bowl as Quinn carries Valor towards the elevator.

"He is in the sick bay. You have left a rather large bump on his head." Fiora walks past lux, passing her a warm blueberry waffle.

"Go easy on him, eh? Even I think he has had enough of a beating." Fiora mutters as she exits the room, leaving Lux alone with Heimerdinger. She turns to walk to the sick bay.

"Hey, Lux?" Heimerdinger says promptly. She stops, turning back to him.

"You need to take a break sometimes." She glares at him for a few seconds before nodding gently. As she regains composure she pats her armour down.

"Oh and for gods sake, take off that armour." He grumbles as he walks past her towards the elevator. The mechanical arm pops out of his hair again to throw Lux a bottle of maple syrup. She catches it, looking at it with a bit of a grin. As she leaves the kitchen and enters the sick bay, Ezreal is sitting on the side of the bed, facing the back wall with a slumped posture. He groans in pain, holding his side as he tries to get up. Lux rolls her eyes, walking over to him and handing him half of the waffle.

"Hey." He instantly becomes startled, falling over medical equipment. She dashes forward, leaving the waffle and syrup on a table at the end of the bed. She carefully pulls him off of the equipment.

"Lux, uh, what are you doing in here?!" He says with fear. She giggles while she sits him back on the bed.

"I came to say that I'm sorry." She quietly sits on a bed across from him, leaning down to try to clean up the mess he made. He stares at her questioningly.

"Sorry?" She places the broken pieces of an already malfunctioning medical robot on the bed next to her.

"I've been acting over the top lately. I wanted to apologise for that and to thank you for... Still loving me." She stares at him with a weak smile. He looks around the room confused.

"Did they fill me with drugs? The woman who co-leads the Demacian armies and previously wanted to marry me who has the biggest temper and grudge ability in the known world wants to say sorry?!" He smirks, looking back at her. She crosses her arms with a frown.

"You really beat the shit out of me... I mean it wasn't even ME who kissed me... Or was it her. I can't remember." He gently rubs the back of his head.

"Ow.." She shakes her head.

"You know what? I'm going to take you up on that offer. But let's go somewhere special AFTER the wedding." He looks back up at her, shocked yet again.

"R-really?" He tries to stand up but stumbles as he shouts.

"Thats great!" He coughs as Lux sits him back down, leading over him. She kisses him tenderly.

"I love you, Ezreal. No matter what happens. We'll be together for as long as I live." He stares into her eyes with love.


	9. Chapter 9

"I've always taken the initiative on jobs. Sometimes, however, I tell a couple of lies. This... This was one of those times." Sivir, the Battle Mistress, Demacia.

**Chapter Nine:**

Lucian stretches in the morning sun, he leads over the side of the stone wall to feel the breeze of Piltover winds upon his face. Galio remains perched on the opposite wall, looking out over the city past Lucian.

"It's been a damn long time since I've been up here." Caitlyn nods, sitting next to Galio. She takes her hat off and places it on top of Galio's head, giggling as he turns his head toward her with a questioning look.

"Can't we just let the interview go? You have me here now and I have Senna's weapon. Let's just let bigons be bigons." Lucian turns back to the two, sitting on one of the stones that holds the champion hall together. Caitlyn shakes her head.

"We have a lot to talk about, for the most part the incident during the field trip of the west summoning school just over four years ago." Lucian and Caitlyn lock eye contact.

"Look I did what I had to do-"

"You became consumed with finding Thresh to the point you aided in the killing of a little girl by the name of Alsia."

"That was not me, she got in the way and that was what happened!"

"She was attempting to save her friend, Scarlet." The silence resumes between the three.

"And she died. Since we can't determine who is to blame as of late we need your help to catch Jinx." He shakes his head with a sigh, turning back to look out over the city.

"Why should I?"

"Because if you do I promise we will aid you in finding Thresh and bringing him to justice." Galio grabs Caitlyn's hat off of his head, ripping himself from the stone ledge.

"Now wait just a minute, sheriff." Caitlyn takes her hat.

"Once we find and apprehend Thresh, you will be able to cast your revenge."

"You can't promise that!"

"Do we have a deal?" Lucian looks down at Senna's gun, his eyes filled with hatred.

"Deal." Suddenly a loud voice spouts through the walky talky attached to Caitlyn's shoulder.

"Sheriff, Vi has asked for back up immediately near the western district. We will be waiting at the bottom of the stairs to escort you to her location. Over." Caitlyn puts her hat back on and grabs her gun from behind Galio.

"We will discuss this matter later. Galio, get Lucian a breakfast then lock him in a cell AWAY from Sivir." Galio stands completely dumbstruck at the deal he had just witnessed. He nods reluctantly as Caitlyn enters the lift, heading down to the entrance.

"Alright big guy. Do you even eat?" Lucian walks ahead towards the lift, spinning his guns as the morning sun rises.

* * *

_**(Piltovian Champion hall, floor one.)**_

Caitlyn walks through the female dorm towards the reception. She hits several bed posts as she walks past.

"Poppy, I need your help are you up for it?" Poppy sits up on her bed with a grin.

"Always, Cait. What's going on?" She follows Caitlyn out into the reception and into the male dorm.

"Garen, follow me. You too Taric if you aren't busy." Garen is polishing his armour while Taric is rummaging through his draws.

"I apologise, Caitlyn. But I am working with Heimerdinger on Demacian defenses. What is happening?" As Garen hauls his armour onto himself Caitlyn begins to explain.

"Vi has requested back up near to the western district."

"Vi? This the same Vi?" Poppy lets out a chuckle, heading to the closed doors of the champion hall. Garen and Caitlyn follow her as the doors creak open. At the edge of the marble steps stands two interns. They hold clipboards and walkie talkies in either hand as if twins. The boy is rather short while the girl is much taller than him. It makes for an odd pair, but none the less they are soon to be part of Piltover's finest.

"Ah, right. Prompt. Very good you two." She smiles, walking past the girl as she hands her the clipboard. Caitlyn begins to read and sign the papers as they walk down the steps and past the fountain which gleams in the sunlight.

"Do you really have to do all of that paper work just to take a stroll through the city?" Garen questions, waving to a few kids as they play in the streets.

"Yes. We have multiple trainee's during the summer months that need to learn the importance of documenting the crimes witnessed and solved throughout the streets of each district."

"Without these documents Piltover just ceases to function." Poppy butts in. Garen shakes his head.

"If you're going to kill a few bad guys, who's going to miss em'?" They turn down the alley way to see the large pile of rubble. Caitlyn notices a few body parts and items of clothing scattered throughout the rubble.

"The families that needed those 'bad guys' to feed them." Caitlyn carefully steps past the rubble as she hands the clipboard back.

"Be a good dear and get us a cup of tea? Also fetch the crane operators and forensics teams, thank you." Poppy and Garen follow Caitlyn through the tight fit. Garen's newly polished armour scrapes through the gap.

"This is a lot of dead bodies." Poppy mutters as Vi comes into view. She's holding up a very torn up Shyvana who seems to be unconscious.

"Shyvana?!" Garen rushes over.

"What the hell happened?" He looks up at Vi, lifting Shyvana in his arms.

"Found her here. After I managed to wake her enough for her to transform back to her human form I found this card tucked into her armour." She hands a green and black card to Caitlyn who's eyes widen in shock.

"Do you really think that it could be them?" Vi converses with Caitlyn as Poppy examines the purple and blue paint splashed all through the hollowed out ruins of each Piltovian home. She tries to shift some of the debris to pull out a small teddy bear who is missing an arm.

"I'm not sure, but if Twisted Fate left this here then it definitely will be. We need to inform Jarvan and Lux right away." Garen carries Shyvana past the rubble back towards the champion hall.

"We have a bigger problem, cupcake." She points through a crafted hole in one of the houses that shows a series of mirrors that reflect to show images of more explosion debris that seems to be scattered around the city.

"Catching Jinx."

* * *

_**(Piltovian Champion hall, floor two, mess hall.)**_

Lucian watches as one of the builders on his break plays the platformer on the television. He hands him a piece of toast, leaning back to see the construction men passing tools up through the hole.

"Can't believe he had it in him. Can you?" He looks at Galio who is helping them to lift the heavy bricks and wooden planks.

"Don't talk to me."

"Fine, I wont." Jayce and Scarlet walk past the mess hall towards the elevator. Lucian turns to catch a glimpse of the girls face. He stares for a seconds as their eyes lock. _Scarlet?_ He thinks.

Lux and Ezreal join the two in the elevator. Lux smiles at Scarlet, holding Ezreal's hand. He nervously twitches, standing completely shirtless in the elevator with only a thin layer of bandages to cover him.

"Ah, you two are better now?" Jayce rummages through his bag to pull out the same scanning device that he and Heimerdinger used on everyone to take radiation and mutation readings.

"Much better. We're going to get his suit sorted for the wedding." Lux says in the most excited voice she's had in weeks. Jayce begins to scan Scarlet as the two converse. Ezreal and Scarlet glance at each other for a few seconds before the elevator opens up letting the group out into the hall. Before they can disperse Garen comes jogging toward the elevator carrying Shyvana in his arms.

"Jayce, help me." He pushes past everyone into the elevator. Jayce follows him, leaving Scarlet, Lux and Ezreal in the hall.

"What the hell is happening?" Lux addresses her brother. He shakes his head.

"Later." The elevator doors close before she can say another word. Just as she turns to Scarlet and Ezreal Caitlyn, Poppy and Vi come walking through towards the elevator.

"Did you see Garen by any chance?" Poppy looks up at Scarlet and Ezreal.

"Yes, he just entered the elevator carrying Shyvana, Caitlyn. Report." She lets go of Ezreal's hand to grab Caitlyn's shoulder. Vi enters the elevator motioning Caitlyn in with her. Lux follows as Caitlyn explains the situation. Poppy leads Ezreal and Scarlet back through to the bar.

"I guess you're not getting that suit." Scarlet sits down on one of the seats away from Ezreal who gets handed a scotch. Poppy offers Scarlet one but she turns it down.

"It's only morning and so far I have had at least seven emotions at once." He sits at the other end of the bar taking a mouth full of liquor.

"What the hell is going on?" He says to Poppy who is rummaging through the fridge.

"The large explosion at the South district bridge wasn't the only explosion. Since then Vi has discovered several places of debris left by who you can only guess were created by Jinx." She sits up on the bar between them, taking a drink of beer straight from the bottle.

"We found Shyvana at one of these sites with a green and black card tucked into her armour."

"Twisted Fate?" Ezreal sits up, groaning in pain.

"Yes but from the markings left in Shyvana's flesh and armour-"

"Can't be done by cards." Scarlet interrupts.

"So who is it?"Poppy questions.

"I think I have an idea. There's going to be a meeting soon knowing Lux and Caitlyn."

"Scarlet, you need to stay for the meeting at least." Poppy urges. Scarlet shakes her head, letting out a sigh under her breath.

"Fine." Lux comes walking through the bar towards reception.

"Meeting, two lab. Mandatory." She says as she walks out, ignoring Ezreal entirely. After she leaves he shakes his head.

"There she goes again, working herself to death."

"So what happened with you Scarlet? You've been acting strange since you got your voice back." Poppy moves closer to her, sitting on the stool right next to her. Scarlet shrugs.

"I've been completely oblivious myself. To be honest I just want to go home." She leans over the bar, grabbing a glass and filling it with water. She takes a sip, looking over at Ezreal who is trying to take off his bandages.

"What did I do?" She says with concern. Ezreal turns to look at her.

"You kissed me, it got you back to.. Normal. But the giant hole?" He lifts his gauntlet up.

"Something set this off. It was really fucking weird." He shrugs, causing himself pain. Poppy goes back to him re-applying the bandages.

"You can't take them off yet."

"Wait. So I kissed you? I would think I would remember that..."

"Do you remember anything at all?" He says coarsely. Scarlet stands up, putting the glass down.

"Look, I didn't ask you to fuck up my life. Alright?!" She walks out towards the male dorm. Ezreal lets out a sigh, downing the last of his drink.

"She didn't have a life to begin with." He scowls. Poppy lets out a chuckle.

"You know, ever since she saved you you've been acting like a spoilt kid that hasn't got his way." He pats his leg, looking up at him with a grin.

"While some people need saving, some people don't want saving." She follows the trail of where Scarlet went towards the reception and Heimerdinger's lab.

"Come on. It's always good to be early. Especially after last time." She laughs as Ezreal rolls his eyes, following her out.

* * *

_**(Heimerdingers lab, floor one.)**_

"What do you mean, this is the only acceptable meeting space? Can't you see Taric and I are working on the defenses that YOU continue to ask for?" Heimerdinger shouts above the confused crowd.

"Yes, why is the meeting down here, general?"

"Where is Jarvan?" Orianna walks past the group, looking around the lab.

"Should I fetch Jayce and Shyvana?" Ezreal walks into the room with a foul look on his face. Caitlyn questions Lux before being pulled away by Vayne who explains the situation.

"Shyvana is injured, we suspect it was by a champion from Noxus."

"Noxus wouldn't dare come near us now. Not with rumor of our defenses being stronger than ever." Quinn butts in.

"But they are not strong. They have not yet been finished." Poppy nods in agreement with Fiora.

"She's right. We're sitting ducks." Argument breaks out between the groups of champions before Garen and Galio enter carrying Shyvana from either side. Lux leans on the table, staring down at the plans for the new and improved crystalline defenses that are to be placed outside of the Demacian farm lands. She surveys the room, resting her eyes on Scarlet who stands alone off to the side, polishing Orianna's ball quietly.

"You." Everyone continues yelling and arguing over Lux. She doesn't notice.

"Scarlet. Yes, you." Scarlet looks up with a blank face. Lux nods towards her.

"When Ezreal bought you here, did he tell you about the process we put crime victims through?" Scarlet continues to polish the ball.

"He just told me that I had to come with him." A few of the champions near here stop talking immediately, turning towards her tentatively.

"Well, we have to discuss with you what you may remember about that night." She speaks over the few champions still talking.

"It's been five years. You didn't even once pursue me or the other children involved, and you want me to relive it?" The rest of the room has now got their attention on her.

"You want me to help you patch up the mess you left behind? After I had to sew up the wound myself? After the years of nightmares, struggling to get work, suffering just to get by?" Scarlet glares her down.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" Silence envelops the lab. Lux takes out a piece of paper from her pocket and begins to address the meeting.

"We are all here to discuss the current state of Demacian and Piltovian relations, including our need to address the ever growing rumor of attack on our very cities and homes. As many of you already know, that is Scarlet X'vear. A young victim of a field trip cross fire at this champion hall on the twenty third of March, five years ago in which a young girl by the name of Alsia Tinker was caught and killed." Vi shakes her head as Caitlyn takes off her hat in respect.

"You are her. The girl I saw run away." Orianna approaches Scarlet with a sad expression. Scarlet stares her in the eyes blankly.

"To bring justice to her, and her lost class mate, we need to apprehend and question Jinx, the loose cannon. Although Piltover's finest has not yet confirmed the whereabouts of the criminal responsible-"

"Listen. I don't NEED your pity. Those who made it, made it. Those who didn't, didn't. You can't bring her back. I tried." Lux turns her attention to Scarlet as soon as she opens her mouth.

"Now I'm going to go home. I'm sick of being treated like a bloody victim by the same people who made me one. I do have one thing to add." She turns to walk towards the door.

"If I were you, I would seriously consider keeping an eye on your so called 'king'. He isn't as 'friendly' and 'social' as I have seen and heard before. Goodbye." As Scarlet leaves the room, each champions gaze rests upon each other. They stand bewildered, and each seems slightly nauseous. Heimerdinger approaches Lux's desk holding the same device used to track the levels of radiation after Scarlet received her voice back.

"Are you aware of the effect her speech patterns had just then?" Lux nods, turning to Jayce.

"Come on, we have to go get her back." Heimerdinger throws Jayce his medical packs and the three head out the door, trailing Scarlet.

"We'll be back in just a moment. Entertain yourselves, but please don't leave yet. We have much to discuss." Lux closes the door behind them, following Heimerdinger up the steps. As they exit the front doors, Scarlet is making her way down the second set of marble steps towards the fountain.

"Scarlet, wait!" Lux cries out over the sound of rushing water into the late summer breeze. Scarlet continues walking down the steps, not looking back.

"Don't you want to be a hero for the ones who loved you?" Jayce says.

"Would you not want to honor the one you lost?" She stops at the bottom of the stairs, clenching her fists. She turns around, her face blisteringly angry.

"Honor her? HONOR her?! My HONOR to her is up in the studio of my shitty little Piltovian apartment in which she sold her childhood to get for us. And as for being a hero!" She scowls at Jayce, throwing the jacket that Jayce had lended her.

"The definition of a hero is someone who gets everyone else killed." She turns her back to them, walking back through the main east street towards her home.

"Leave me the FUCK alone!" The three of them stand in awe as she storms away. Heimerdinger and Jayce turn to each other, but Lux follows down the steps.

"We NEED what you have, Scarlet! You can make people LISTEN to you!" Scarlet flips her off as she keeps walking.

"We need you to save us..." Scarlet turns down an alley, out of sight.

"What a shame she didn't join us. We could have used her in the up and coming summoner recruitment."

"A shining example of an every day warrior. What a waste of talent." Heimerdinger shrugs, heading back up the steps as Lux turns back to the hall.

"I'm just sorry we couldn't save you."


	10. Chapter 10

"Rewind? Rewind what? Oop, beat ya to it! Ha ha, welcome to Zaun." Ekko, the Boy who Shattered Time, Zawn.

**Chapter Ten:**

"Ok, ok. We're two weeks late, but i'm sure it's no problem. He probably left it on the trap door, waiting for pick up. It's not like Talon will kill me if I don't have it by today... Right?" Twitch rummages through his pockets as he approaches the entrance to the Piltovian prisons. Pulling out a ring of keys, he holds them in his mouth as he checks the time on his broken watch, flicking it with his other paw to try to get it ticking again.

"Eh, close enough to lunch time. Let's open it up and take a look inside." He unlocks the prison trap door, slowly lifting the hatch and taking a look around the dim room. He crawls inside and carefully closes the hatch. As he turns around he notices Sivir in the far left cell.

"Well, look who it is. Did you fight for a cause again or did you die for one? I can't tell." Sivir pulls her arms back through the cell bars, glaring at him.

"Oh, thats right. You tried to cheat a desperate man that lost his wife out of hard earned money. Let me guess, he didn't take that too well?" He turns with a maniacal laugh before being lunged at by another arm. He stumbles back.

"Woah, who's this?" He squints in the dark before shaking his head.

"We'll this would be why I didn't get the ball, wouldn't it?" Lucian scowls spitting at him through the dark.

"I'm guessing you two are well versed as to how you got here. Now if you'd excuse me, I need to get myself a ball." Lucian begins laughing hysterically. Sivir lets out a light chuckle.

"Orianna's awake." Sivir says as Lucian catches his breath.

"They fixed her." Twitch spins around, trying to keep up with their banter.

"What do you mean, 'fixed.'" He angrily mutters.

"She can't be fixed. Or I'LL be fixed!" He says in a worried tone.

"There's a new face in Piltover, rat. Her name is Scarlet." Sivir taps on the metal bars as Twitch returns to the trap door.

"Ah, whoever. Keep your mouths shut if you know what's good for you. I wasn't here."

"Not like you can kill us." Lucian lays back down on his bed.

"You have to be the WORST thief I have ever seen!" Twitch mutters as he exits through the trap door rapidly. As he locks the door he hears a very angry voice echo through the sewer tunnels.

"Do you have the ball?" Twitch swings around, startled, slamming his head into the trap door loudly as Talon grabs the rat by the collar. He slams him against the cobbled tunnel, next to the trap door entrance.

"Well, egh, you see.. heh.. ehh.."

"You don't have it, do you?!" Talon scowls, dragging him after him.

"Orianna's awake! She's awake! The ball is with her!"

"I know. We need to meet with-"

"No, no, no! It doesn't have to come to that, does it?! Please, she scares me!"

"Good, maybe then you won't fail."

* * *

_**(The outskirts of Zaun city territory.)**_

"Welcome to Zaun!" Twisted Fate wakes up, tied to an old chair in the dark. A blueish glow spreads throughout what seem's to be an alley way. He mumbles to himself.

"Where the hell is my hat?" A young boy lunges out of the dark suddenly, wearing a cowboy hat, Twisted Fates cowboy hat.

"What, you mean this old thing?" Twisted Fate carefully draws a yellow card from his sleeve, but before he can cut the rope he see's the kid holding the card in front of his own face.

"Ah, ah ah... Don't even try it. I already know. Oh, and the painting is nice! Wonder who you stole it off." He takes off the hat as he examines the detailed card, flowing with magic. He places the hat ontop of Twisted Fate's head as he turns with a devilish grin.

"I'm the card master here, buddy boy." He drops the card to the ground as he walks behind Twisted Fate, tapping his shoulder with the blunt end of his blade.

"What brings you back to Zaun? Haven't seen you since the riot. That you caused." He lets out a slight chuckle.

"Never thought you'd be stupid enough to come back here, especially with the bounty on your head." Twisted Fate leans back slightly, rolling his shoulders calmly as he spits to the side.

"Come on, say something! It's been so long! Come on 'partner', I'm waiting for your daring escape!" He angrily kicks the back of the chair, causing him to fall forward onto his face and his hat to roll off out of the alley and into the open streets. Twisted Fate rolls onto his side, then onto his back. Despite crushing his arms, he makes no noise, looking up at the sky. It's dark, almost as if it was the middle of the night.

"You're no fun anymore, you know that? Come on, tell me something I don't know! Like where you've been the past month? Piltover? Yea, I knew. You're as big of a piece of shit as I had expected." Ekko attempts to spit on Twisted Fate, but he flings himself to the side, avoiding it and causing his face to be squished up against the concrete. Ekko laughs, placing his foot on top of his head.

"I'm here to escape Katarina." Ekko removes his foot, grabbing the back of the chair and pulling it upright. He leans close to Twisted Fate, glaring him in the eye.

"Why would Katarina want you?" Twisted Fate grins, letting out a slight chuckle.

"Helped the wrong side, wasn't a fair fight. Now she'll need me to fight for her. And guess what, boy? I'm scared of her much more than I'm scared of you." They lock eye contact before Ekko swings behind him, untying him.

"Now you're helping me?" Ekko doesn't respond for a few moments before dropping a large stack of papers in front of him. He walks out of the alley way, grabbing his hat and tossing it to him.

"Help me catch these crims', and i'll keep Katarina off of your back. Fair trade?" He catches his hat, putting it back on his head as he picks up his yellow card and the painting, following Ekko out into the Zawn streets.

"I hate fair trades."

* * *

_**(Piltovian Champion hall, basement level, jail cells.)**_

The cell entrance door opens, followed by soft foot steps coming down the stone stairs which are quickly overshadowed by clunky rough stomps. Caitlyn turns on the light, blinding the two who sit across from each other who were locked in a stalemate of eye contact. Vi pulls up two chairs in the center of the room.

"Alright, do you two need anything? Water? Food?" Caitlyn calmly writes on her report. Vi rolls her eyes, snatching the report from her and snapping the board in half.

"We're not here to play games. Le Blanc is in the hall. Where?" She kicks the bars of Sivir's cell. Sivir doesn't budge, keeping eye contact with Lucian.

"Vi, sit down." Caitlyn pushes her down into the chair in front of Lucian's cell. She picks up the broken board with a sigh.

"We all need to know who it is so spill the beans, or we will all die." Caitlyn sits in front of Sivir's cell, breaking her eye contact from Lucian. Sivir stares at her silently, leaning back in her chair with a expressionless face.

"You won't get anything out of her. Even if you did, it'll be a lie." Lucian scowls slamming his hands into the bars as he stands up, yelling at the top of his lungs. Vi grabs his neck through the bars, catching the bandaging of her hand on a snag in the metal. Her hand drips blood as she pulls him close to the bars.

"Keep your mouth shut, deserter." She mutters through her teeth. Sivir shakes her head, leaning back in close to Caitlyn who ignores Vi's violent advances. Sivir whispers to her, completely serious.

"Jarvan." She stands from her chair, walking back into the shadow towards her bed. Caitlyn, unable to move, looks back down at the cobbled floor in anger. Vi pushes Lucian away, turning towards Sivir.

"Liar! Lucian wasn't wrong, cupcake." Caitlyn shakes her head, putting her hat back on heading towards the stairs.

"You can't seriously believe her?" Vi follows her up the stairs questioningly, leaving a trail of blood on the cobbled floor.

"She's lying!" the door slams behind the last of the words. Lucian stands in the middle of his cell, his fists clenched at his sides.

"Before you threaten me, know I had no choice but to run." She relaxes on her bed, looking up at the ceiling calmly.

"You had every choice. Tell me what you know about him." He moves back to the bars, sitting on the chair he had placed hours before.

"Please... Tell me." He seemingly begs. Sivir lets out a sigh, sitting up on the bed with a sollum face.

"Last I knew, Noxas had him on guard outside the woodland boarder separating Kumungu jungle and the Voodoo Lands. They would have moved him by now, however." Lucian places his head on the bars in anguish, letting out a quiet sob.

"Senna.." Sivir shakes her head, reaching through the bars and clicking her fingers.

"The new girl, Scarlet. Didn't you and Senna plan to have a child by that name?" He looks up at her, wiping his face on his sleeve.

"How do you know that?" She smiles weakly.

"I once fought for a cause, just like her." She pulls her arm back through the bars, hiding the tears forming in her eyes.

"That girl, Scarlet. She looks a lot like her, you know? Despite being, you know..." Lucian nods, regaining his composure. He lets out a huff, scanning the area for something.

"She was pregnant when she died, did you know that?" Lucian stops, scowling at Sivir through the darkness.

"That's enough." He mutters through his teeth, finding what he was looking for. He reaches through the bars, trying to grab the keys that lay on the table in front of him. He manages to grab the keys, opening the cell door. He rummages through the draws of the desk near the stairs, grabbing his guns.

"I heard that through cruel circumstances Thresh would sometimes spare the children of his victims-" Lucian suddenly approaches her cell, holding a gun to her head through the bars.

"Speak and you die." A gunshot is heard from the basement level. Caitlyn ignores it as she walks towards Jarvan's office, Vi grabs her shoulder.

"We need to check that out, Cait." Caitlyn turns, glaring at her. Her face quickly softens.

"Go catch him, I have some questions that need to be answered." Vi reluctantly nods, heading back towards the elevator. Caitlyn turns back to see Galio standing between her and the office doors. She tries to walk past him but he grabs her by the shoulders, sitting her down on the stone crenelation with a concerned face.

"Why are you here?" He questions. Adjusting her hat with a stone smile. She looks up at him, stern faced.

"Jarvan is-" Galio covers her mouth, nodding.

"Orianna told me. You need to keep away from her as long as possible. Lux has a plan."

* * *

_**(Piltover's eastern low district, three hours before midnight.)**_

As she walks down the street with her hands in her pockets she remembers. She remembers how many people back at the Champion hall had helped to keep her safe and to fix her. She stops next to the surprisingly calm water that flows towards the center of the city, staring at her reflection. She wears one of Ezreal's spare jackets, with Lux's shirt and pants that help to keep her warm in the night air. She digs into the jacket pockets to find the remainder of the silencer that changed her life. With a sigh she keeps walking, lifting her head from her constant stare at the ground. But as she lifts her head it becomes apparent that she should have kept it down. A large pile of rubble covers what used to be the entrance to the flat next to hers. She quickly climbs up the pile to see the massive hole in her flat where the kitchen lays wide open. She can barely see the purple and blue paint splattering the ceiling before she slides down the rubble and sprints up the stairs as fast as she can.

As she bursts into the front door, the door breaks off of it's last hinge, nearly falling onto the one chair seemingly completely untouched. Scarlet rams her body under it,flinging it out of the hole in the wall and into the river below. She scrambles to her feet, grabbing the chair leg for support. Standing up with tears forming in her eyes she peers down at the arm of the chair. She scowls, screaming in anger as she see's Jinx's name carved over Alsia's. Four bullets are left on the seat of the chair. She grabs them, breathing heavily as she follows the paint lines on the destroyed furniture beneath her feet. She stands where the X is painted to see a full picture. The once random strokes of purple and blue paint line up perfectly to make out the taunt'4 SHOTZ 2 KILL'. She looks back at the bullets as her fist opens.

Before she can think straight she throws off the jacket she's wearing, making her way to her studio where all the paintings are covered by glowing purple and blue paint that reads 'CATCH ME IF YOU CAN!'. When she places the bullets on a small coffee table next to the wardrobe she hears the maniacal laughter of the girl who took it all. As she strips off her shirt to reveal the bandaging covering most of her body, she reaches into the back of her wardrobe to pull out the grey summoner coat, filled with bullet holes and stained in blood. She puts it on immediately, tightening the belt buckles to her body. Without vindication she shoves the bullets in the coat pocket, grabbing her hiking boots from the back of the trashed wardrobe.

She leans against the boarded up window, back towards the broken glass as she ties the last knot in the shoes. She sings softly.

"Do not fear, danger near. League of heroes… The League of Legends. They don't falter and nor shall thee… Piltovians' are we. Do not fear, danger near. League of heroes… The League of Legends. They don't falter and nor shall thee… Piltovians' are we." She repeats the song as she jumps from the hole in her kitchen wall onto the pile of rubble, staring up at moonlit city scape across the river.

"Four shots to kill." She slides down the pile of rubble, sprinting back towards the champion hall as fast as her legs will take her. The last line of the song echo's throughout the streets.

"Piltovians' are we."


	11. An Update

A BRIEF UPDATE:

I find myself more and more drawn back to this story. Even more so now that the full over hall of the League of Legends lore is almost fully under way.

My dream to become a writer for RIOT has almost died away due to the fact that I feel as if I would have no place in their creative engine, due to the pick up on lore. Yet this fanfiction still intrigues me, and the characters still entice me as a writer to continue my original path down the story line of my created Runeterra.

If anyone would like to see progress on this fan fiction then let me know by leaving a review.

If I were to continue with this work, the title of the fanfiction may be changed. This is not because of the negative reviews of my work, but because of the story line shifting to be more about the bigger problems that Runeterra will be facing over the new chapters that I may be putting out.

Let me know if you want me to continue my tale.

Kassandra McMeekan (Cookiekinzyousay)


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